The Capitol Wasteland
by XxNightAngelusxX
Summary: The lone wanderer couldn't have prepared for the wasteland, which she'd been shielded from her entire life. When the world outside becomes maddening and nearly unbearable, she adapts, grows, and even makes some priceless friends. But that's when all the shit hits the fan.
1. Following in his Footsteps

INTRO;

This is a humanity/friendship/adventure story. I intended to use the plot of Fallout 3, but re-create it from a more realistic standpoint... so that the vault dweller could have better and deeper conversations, could face inner turmoil the wasteland brought out in her, and have closer connections with her friends and companions, so that the vaultie's friends could have more of a back story.

I'm still updating and fixing the story even though its complete now. I've been mulling over this fanfiction for a long time, and I want it to be in its greatest possible quality. Also, this story & my New Vegas story CONTAIN SPOILERS. So you might wanna beat the games first!

Also, I didn't realize it until after finishing the story, but I'm aware that the first chapter is basically the unchanged beginning of Fallout 3. This was intentional, because it leads into a different, more down-to-earth and twisted perspective of the wasteland. This story is going to follow the plot of Fallout 3, but stay tuned for the surprises. Enjoy! :)

* * *

**The sun blazed over the vast, decimated remains of the world, and the wasteland shone with a brightness unthinkable to a vault dweller. It was horribly blinding, taking the first steps out into the open, empty Capital Wastes.**

** Zella shielded her eyes for a moment, her vision obscured by the tremendously bright rays of the sun above, a thing she'd never laid her eyes upon until now.**

**Heart still hammering, she felt a slight urgency, still standing in front of the gate leading to the entrance to Vault 101, a place she, up until now, thought was an out-of-reach, only thought of gateway to some unexplored world...**

** "Wake up!" Zella remembered hearing the second she awoke, after a strange dream about her father and her bb gun. The dream involved some rad roaches obtaining her gun, seeking revenge and hoping to overthrow the Overseer, until she and her father decided to foil their plans... but that was over once Amata's voice broke through her world of make-believe.**

** "Come on, you've ****_got _****to wake up!" Amata gave Zella's shoulders a shake, startling her awake. **

**Groggily, Zella sat up, looking a bit annoyed.**

**"Whaddoya want? I'm trying to sleep." Zella yawned, attempting to pat her hair down into less of a frightening rat's nest.**

**"Listen, you've gotta get out of here. Your dad, he left... and my dad, well, he's sort of gone crazy..." Amata began frantically.**

**"What're you talking about?" Zella asked, fixing her still blurry vision on her, now feeling a slight sensation of anxiousness.**

**"He... they killed Jonas." Amata told her, her tone cracking. "Your dad left the vault, and they're all looking for you. You've gotta get out of here!"**

**"Dad left?" Zella said, her heart beginning to pound. "Jonas is..."**

**"Jonas is ****_dead!" _****Amata said.**

**Zella fell silent for a moment, wondering if she was still dreaming.**

**"Listen, go to my Dad's room, and find his password. The entrance to the vault is in his office... and if all goes well, I'll meet you there." Amata told her.**

**"Are you serious?" Zella asked, now completely flabbergasted. "How the hell am I supposed to get out of here? No one's ever left the vault..."**

**"Your dad has!" Amata responded straightly. "And... and if you don't leave, I'm afraid they'll do something terrible to you... just like Jonas..."**

**Zella gulped, now hoping dearly that she was still in a dream.**

**"But I can't just leave-"**

**"You have to!" Amata retorted. "Please, just go... before... before something bad happens again. Here... take this gun. Just... don't shoot anyone unless you have to."**

**Amata handed her what appeared to be a 10 millimeter pistol. It didn't seem to be in great condition, but it was probably fit enough to shoot and kill like it was supposed to.**

**Zella, still hesitant, slowly wrapped her fingers around the gun. She was quite used to shooting her bb gun, and although she was a crackshot with it, she'd never fired a proper fire arm before.**

**"I'll... I'll only shoot if I have to." Zella agreed, barely believing the words as they escaped her mouth.**

**Zella stood, pocketed the stimpacks in her bedroom's first aid box, and pulled open her desk drawer. Might as well take Grognak the Barbarian...**

**Zella gave one last glance to Amata, then headed out of her room and down the hall. It was a while before she actually encountered another person.**

**When she rounded a corner, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she realized she was only inches away from a vault guard.**

**"Goodness!" Officer Gomez exclaimed, looking exasperated. "Oh... you're lucky it was me who found you, the others won't be so forgiving."**

**Zella, looking particularly concerned and confused, sighed, saying nothing.**

**"Look, I don't know what your dad was up to... and I don't wanna know. Just... just clear out of here and I'll pretend I never saw you." Gomez told her, wearing a bothersome expression.**

**"Th... thanks, Gomez. I always liked you." Zella told him.**

**"Just go, just... get outta here." Gomez replied, swatting his hand.**

**Zella obeyed, speed-walking down another long hallway.**

**Although she was now armed with a pistol, Zella decided to keep the gun on her belt, and hold onto her bat instead. No need to waste what little bullets she had.**

**Images of her father flashed through her mind as she marched down the hall, her heart thumping harder and harder... ****_I'm proud of you sweetheart... your mother would be so proud of you... is Butch giving you a hard time again? Don't tell anyone about that bb gun, sweetie... _**

**Why? What made him want to leave the vault all the sudden...?**

**And why leave his own ****_daughter_**** behind...?**

**Zella forced her breath to slow, knowing full well that panic was the worst thing she could do at a time like this. Biting her lip, trying her damnest not to let her hands shake, holding her bat in an upright position, she exhaled, then walked around another corner, dreading whatever she'd find on the other side...**

**She'd never been in an honestly dangerous situation before. It was quite exhilarating, but she doubted that the overwhelming fear made such an adrenaline rush worthwhile.**

**Down the hall, she spotted something that made her heart skip a beat, her breath cutting thin.**

**"You! There you are!" A vault officer exclaimed, although he was unable to pursue Zella, because he was under attack by a swarm of rad roaches.**

**Zella, without thinking, dashed forward and swung the bat as hard as her arms would allow. The end of the wooden bat landed squarely in the center of a rad roach, squishing its body, crunching its exoskeleton, making its gooey insides squirt all over the floor...**

**Four more roaches rounded on Zella and the vault officer, who both continued swinging at the roaches, armed with a bat and a nightstick... but the roaches outnumbered them...**

**One of the roaches bit Zella's ankle, making her leap back in pain. Just as she was about to give another swing, a familiar robotic voice rang through the air, from right behind her...**

**"Not to worry, madame." Andy, the Mr. Handy robot servant of Vault 101, said as he hovered into sight. Zella jumped out of the way just in time...**

**Andy raised one of his metal arms, and like a flame thrower, it released a massive wave of flames, burning all of the roaches alive. The vault officer hopped backwards, back against the wall, avoiding the flames by inches.**

**After the fire faded, the vault officer approached her, and to her surprise, he landed a hard, solid strike on her face with his nightstick, knocking her onto the floor.**

**"You and your stupid father ruined everything!" He hollered. **

**Zella, disoriented, vision askew, was holding her face, her cheek now stinging with large jolts of pain with every beat of her heart. She stared up at the officer, who raised his arm, preparing to swing again-**

**"That's hardly polite, sir!" Andy said, floating up to the officer from behind, raising his arm again-**

**_FWOOOOOOOOOOOSH. _**

**Another cloud of flames erupted from Andy's arm, consuming the vault officer completely, who was now screaming, flailing his arms, and jumping around frantically, attempting to pat the fire off him and failing. After a moment or so, he hit the ground, no longer moving.**

**Zella stood slowly, staring at the vault officer, who's clothes and skin were now scorched black. The air now wreaked of burnt human flesh, and Zella, now trembling, staring at the body in disbelief, turned, glancing at Andy.**

**"Th... thanks." Zella said, unable to think of anything more fitting to say.**

**"Not a problem, madame. I'm sure you will catch up to the doctor if you hurry." Andy replied, then turned and hovered down the hallway.**

**Zella wandered the halls again for another five minutes or so, clutching onto the handle of her bat, anxiously awaiting whatever dangers would pop up and surprise her again.**

**Just then, the PA system gave a small noise, a scratchy tone of static... then, it played the voice of the Overseer.**

**"All residents are hear by confined to their living quarters. Anyone who does not comply with these orders will be dealt with... severely. And just as a reminder, the rad roach infestation is under control..."**

**_Yeah right_****, Zella thought bitterly, marching up the stairs and reaching the upper level. Once she climbed the stairs, another person rushed up to her-she braced for a fight, raising her bat, but stopped when she realized who it was.**

**"Please!" Butch cried, grasping onto her shoulders. "My mom's trapped with the rad roaches! I... I can't get to her, please help!"**

**"And why should I help ****_you?" _****Zella asked, masking her shock.**

**"Be-because I... I can't..." Butch stammered.**

_**Figures,**_** Zella thought, watching him. ****_Always a big billy-badass, until any real shit hits the fan... what a pathetic loser... _**

**"I can't go in there with the rad roaches! Please! Please go help her!" Butch pleaded, fingers coiling around the cloth of her vault jumpsuit, holding her shoulders with a vice-like grip.**

**"Are you serious, Butch?" Zella asked. "That's your own ****_mother, _****you chicken shit. YOU go help her!"**

**"I... I can't... no way am I going back in there!" He whined.**

**"Butch, you're big. They're small. Go in there and squish them! Here... I'll give you my bat." Zella ordered him, handing her bat to him.**

**Butch grabbed the bat, mouth hanging open, looking completely torn.**

**"NOW!" Zella screamed, making him jump.**

**"I... o-okay!" Butch said, nodding, then he ran down the hall at top speed, wielding Zella's bat. He ran into his living quarters and vanished from sight.**

**Zella, releasing a breath, stood and continued to watch the open door of Butch's living quarters for a moment. She wasn't sure if she was waiting for him to return, or if she was fighting the temptation of going in there and squishing the roaches herself... nevertheless, after another moment of hesitation, she began down the hallway again, walking very slowly, trying to remember the way to the Overseer's office.**

**"You're the best, man!" Butch exclaimed, appearing from behind her, startling her so badly she could have sworn her heart leapt into her throat.**

**"God dammit Butch!" Zella scolded.**

**Butch looked positively relieved, and he seemed to be out of breath. The bat, along with his clothing, were both covered in a greenish-tan goo, which Zella assumed to be the remains of the slaughtered rad roaches.**

**"Sorry, but... you're the best friend I ever had, thanks man!" Butch told her.**

**If her situation wasn't already so very unbelievable, Zella wouldn't believe these words were coming from Butch. **

**"I'm not a man." Zella snapped. **

**"You know what I mean, man. Here, take my Tunnel Snake's jacket... its the least I can do." Butch told her, flipping the jacket of himself and draping it around her.**

**"Now get the hell outta here before they find you." Butch said, then headed down the hall and back into his home.**

**Zella, heaving another huge breath, began down the hall once more... **

**Time passed, and after side-stepping a few more roaches, Zella nearly forgot that she was target number one... perhaps she was just lucky, after not running into any of her pursuers for ten minutes straight. **

**Just as she was about to venture down another hall, she halted on a dime when she heard voices... at first, she worried she may have been discovered, but then she realized that the voices were muffled... they were coming from the inside of a nearby room...**

**Spotting a window, Zella squinted inside, careful not to get too close to the window, hoping not to get seen.. **

**"Be reasonable, Amata. Officer Mack might enjoy this, but I won't." The soft, creepishly calm voice of the Overseer said. **

**Zella, slightly alarmed by this statement, stole a glance into the window.**

**The Overseer and Officer Mack were standing over Amata, who was sitting in a chair, cradling her arms, looking terrified. Officer Mack was the closest to her, and he was holding his nightstick in a particularly threatening manner.**

_**What the hell?**_** Zella thought, her mouth opening, her expression appalled. ****_She's the Overseer's daughter... how the hell can he do this to his own daughter...? _**

**"Please... she's my friend." Amata said, her tone shaking, fighting back tears. **

**Officer Mack exchanged faces with the Overseer, who nodded, then turned his head, looking away for a moment. **

**Officer Mack raised the stick, and delivered two swift, hard hits to Amata, smacking her once in the face, and once on the shoulder. Amata let out a shriek, falling from the chair and onto her side on the vault floor.**

**Zella slammed her hand against the door switch, and it flew open from the bottom to the top. The Overseer and Officer Mack turned to her, both looking taken back by the sight of her. **

**Her hand clamped onto the handle of the pistol on her hip, and Zella held up the gun, aimed, and fired-**

**"NO!" Amata yelled, her voice ringing and echoing parallel to the terribly loud gunshot... **

**The bullet hit the arm of the Overseer, making him stumble back, his hand covering the bloody wound. Zella, now overcome with a rushing panic, departed the room and dashed down the hallway as fast as her legs would carry her.**

**As soon as she approached the Overseer's room, another sight caught her eye, her heart giving a leap. She gasped, stopping in her tracks. **

**The body of Jonas was lying just feet before her.**

**For a moment, Zella was unable to tear her eyes from his lifeless corpse.**

**"GET HER!" A voice bounced off the walls horribly, making Zella snap back into reality. **

**Zella, more pumped than she'd ever been in her life, ran into the Overseer's room and shut the door behind her. She locked the door, but she was sure the Overseer probably had a key, so she made sure to act as quickly as possible. **

**Scanning over the room, she spotted the lockers and approached them, then swung one of them open. Zella raised her thin eyebrows, then swiped all of the stimpacks and other suspicious chems into her satchel bag, along with a small slip of paper that was buried under the various medications.**

**On the paper was a word which appeared to be written in a very curvy, chicken-scratchily handwriting. **

_**Amata.**_

**Zella stepped towards the big, shiny computer terminal, then scrolled through the options. **

_**Open Overseer's Tunnel.**_

**She selected the option, then entered the password. ****_Amata. _**

**Then, what sounded like a rush of steam emitted from the floor around her, and the second she felt the floor move, Zella scrambled away from the Overseer's desk, staring at it in awe.**

**The floor surrounding the desk was rising upwards, revealing what looked like a staircase, which lead to a secret tunnel...**

_**To the exit.**_

**Without wasting a second, Zella darted down the stairs, entering a large, empty metal room, inhabited only by a gigantic metal door. After activating the door's switch, she watched it open, then rushed inside, only to lay eyes on the great big entrance to Vault 101.**

**Zella stopped for a moment, examining the monstrous, round metal door.**

_**This had to be a dream...**_

**"Zella!" Amata's voice broke through her thoughts a few minutes later.**

**Zella whipped around, seeing Amata hurrying into the room from a second door.**

**"I came from the downstairs entrance." She explained. "And thanks... for... for not killing him."**

**"No problem." Zella told her.**

**Zella looked around, seeing the control switch just a couple of feet apart from her. She stepped forward, took hold of the handle, and pulled it down.**

**A deafening, blaring siren began to ring, and the large machine hovering above pressed against the giant metal door. The metal door rolled open, revealing a dirt tunnel, which lead to a tiny little door in the distance, little cracks of sunlight peeking in...**

**"Oh my God... you opened it." Amata said, awestricken, staring at the opening. "You actually opened it... I was starting to think it was impossible."**

**Zella, ignoring the siren, faced Amata.**

**"Come with me." Zella suggested.**

**"It... its tempting, but... my place is here." Amata replied. "My dad's gone crazy... someone's gotta try to sort it out. Good luck out there... I'll try to keep them distracted."**

**Amata gave her a last, faint smile, then headed back into the door where she came.**

**Zella, after watching her all the way, gazed at the great opening of the tunnel of Vault 101, then stepped through the opening, onto the dirt path. She followed the little cracks of light coming from the door, gaining on it, reaching it, pushing it open...**

**And here she was.**


	2. Megaton

**It was bizarre.**

**That was Zella's first thought when she first learned of the town called Megaton.**

**Who, who in their right minds, would find a ditch containing an active bomb, and decide to build a town around it? Zella couldn't wrap her mind around it... that is, until she learned about the Children of Atom. Perhaps some nut jobs worshiping the bomb would provide some logic for the question as to what kind of people built a town around it...**

**After departing the entrance of Vault 101, Zella wandered around for nearly two hours before thinking to check her Pip-Boy's map. She never had to use the map before now...**

**Approaching the town of Megaton, it was astounding, watching the huge metal gates open for her. Upon entering the town, she was greeted by a man named Lucas Simms, who gave her a friendly, somewhat intimidating town welcome. Now, here she stood, staring at the giant bomb, listening to some raggedy man standing ankle deep in the irradiated water, preaching about Atom...**

**"Behold! He's coming with the clouds!"**

**After about ten minutes of listening, Zella began to tune him out, staring upwards at the clunky metal buildings built around the ditch, looking fascinated. Her short, straight-combed, frazzled, shining crimson-red hair seemed brighter than usual under the sun, along with her glistening blue eyes, which were fixed on the town, sparkling with a child-like curiosity. After the rays of the sun became more apparent to her, she began to suspect that her pale, fair skin would get burned if she stared upwards any longer.**

**She turned, noticing a small stand just yards away from her, with a flickering light that read;**

**FOOD.**

**She hadn't noticed until now, but her stomach was rumbling rather loudly. Last time she had eaten was yesterday evening, still in the Vault, under the white florescent lights, talking to Amata and Gomez, avoiding Butch's eyes from the other table...**

**Zella stepped towards the stand.**

**"You hungry?" The woman asked.**

**Zella nodded. "What's on the menu?"**

**The woman handed her a sheet of paper.**

_**Brahman Steak**_

_**Iguana Bits**_

_**Noodles**_

_**Nuka-cola**_

_**Rad Roach Meat**_

**Zella swallowed, realizing her throat was dry.**

**"I don't have any money, sorry." She said glumly, handing the menu back to her.**

**"Oh, well... sweetheart, have you got anything for trade? Say, anything you can barter?"**

**Zella patted her satchel. The only things in her possession were her chems, and her comic of Grognak the Barbarian from her childhood, none of which she wanted to give up.**

**"Here." Zella said, sliding Butch's Tunnel Snakes jacket off her shoulders, now feeling the chilly air graze her torso. "Its made of real leather... is it worth anything?"**

**"Oh, yes, yes..." The woman said, nodding, wearing a solemn, slightly guilty face, looking hesitant to take Zella's jacket. Still, the woman took the jacket and hung it on the wall behind her.**

**"What would you like, sweetheart?" The woman asked her. "Whatever you like... and I'll throw in a free drink. Would you like water, or a Nuka-Cola?"**

**"Water, please." Zella asked, taking a seat, not having the faintest idea what a Nuka-Cola was. "Um... what's a Brahman Steak? Is it any good?"**

**"Oh, definitely... its my favorite course to sell. Have you really never had a Brahman Steak before?" The woman said, looking a little bewildered.**

**Zella shook her head, looking down, feeling more out of place than ever.**

**"I'll cook it extra tender for you, sweetheart. And I'll give it some of my favorite seasoning... you'll love it." The woman told her, giving her a comforting smile, then turning and firing up a grill.**

**As the woman cooked a peculiar hunk of meat, which was beginning to smell more and more appetizing as the sizzling steam filed the air around the stand, Zella tried to ignore her achingly empty stomach and peered around, watching different parts of the town, watching the people walk by, examining them, their faces, their outfits... they all seemed so very different from anyone she knew in the vault. Sort of dirty, sort of worn, but all carrying with them a certain, down-to-earth sense of reality, of self accomplishment, of a very human pride that no one in the vault ever had.**

**A human sense of survival.**

**They all seemed to have an upright kick in their step, a straight-up spine, a face ready and waiting to fend off any trouble the wasteland might throw at them to threaten their lives.**

**Zella couldn't take her eyes off the Megaton settlers.**

**Their sense of survival was rather compelling...**

**And, as she stared at them, she hadn't realized that she was smirking.**

**"Here you go, sweety. And here's your water." The woman said, placing a steaming hot plate of meat before her, then pulling out two bottles from the fridge. "And have a Nuka, its on me." She smiled kindly, then went to speak with another customer.**

**Zella glared between the big orange steak, and the cold bottle of suspicious brown liquid. She wasn't sure which one she wanted to experiment with first.**

**Despite her annoying hunger, she reached for the bottle of soda, and after prying the cap off using the edge of the counter, she stared into the bottle. It seemed to be bubbling, sending microscopic drops of liquid upwards, tickling her chin.**

**Having never consumed a carbonated drink before, Zella pressed the bottle to her lips, then swallowed two gulps of the cold soda. **

**It was amazing; The liquid contained a wonderful, sensational zing, like she'd never tasted before, followed by an artificial sweetness matching the carbonation perfectly.**

**Zella placed the drink on the table, now suddenly in a better mood.**

**"Jesus..." She muttered to herself.**

**Then, she picked up the steak knife, and dug it into the thick steak. It took almost five minutes to cut out a segment, and then, she shoved the large chunk of meat into her mouth.**

**It tasted astronomical, incredibly flavorful, juicy, with the slightest hint of spiciness. It was the freshest thing she'd ever eaten in her life.**

**Apparently, Zella was making quite a pleasureful expression, because the food woman looked her way, grinning.**

**"Its great, isn't it?" She said to Zella. "I wish I could have it for every meal... that Brahman meat is amazing for your health, full of protein. Can't have too much, though... because of the rads."**

**Zella stopped chewing.**

**"Hmm?" She mumbled, her mouth still full of food.**

**"Oh, you know, sweetheart... everything has a bit of radiation in it. Nothing that's gonna hurt you, though." **

**Zella held the food in her mouth for a full minute before swallowing it. She didn't know how she felt about willingly consuming radiation... but evidently, it was commonplace for folks living in the wasteland...**

**Still, she was able to overcome this thought, seeing as how the food in front of her was drop-dead delicious. Zella savored her meal, finishing it off after ten minutes or so, having eaten her entire steak, and downing her Nuka-Cola. She was sure to eat as slowly as possible, in order to hold onto the flavor.**

**Zella took a swig of her bottled water, then stuck it into her satchel, standing, and looking at the town buildings once again.**

**Squinting, she was able to make out a wooden sign, painted with white, decorated letters, reading;**

_**Moriarty's Saloon**_

**A Saloon... that would be where locals pass through. If her father was in this town, or if he happened to stop here, someone inside that Saloon would probably know.**

**All the zig-zagging metal walkways looked like a labyrinth. But, that didn't stop Zella from venturing up the ramp, and walking along the suspended metal sidewalks until she finally found the entrance to the Saloon. **

**The inside of the Saloon was a bit dirty, but somehow, it was more well-kept than Zella had expected. Inside, the first thing she saw was a woman wearing a low cut shirt, standing over the counter, talking to a young man in a grimy white t-shirt, who, upon two or three extra glances, seemed to have very horrific, decaying skin like a corpse.**

**"Ahhhhgh... Come on, ya' piece of junk." The corpse-like man growled in a scratchy, hoarse voice. He hit the top of the radio with his fists, but it continued to emit a loud static, making the radio host barely audible. **

**"I told you, Gob... its Galaxy News Radio. Their signal's been shit lately. The Enclave radio comes in fine." The woman told him.**

**"Auuugh." The man grumbled again, giving the radio a last smack. The woman walked away from the counter, and Zella came forward, sitting on a stool, observing him. She tried not to stare, but she'd never seen anyone like him before. He must've been incredibly sick, with some kind of skin-rotting disease.**

**After a minute or so of watching him, he turned, looking at her.**

**Zella looked away, hoping she hadn't offended him by staring.**

**"Do you need a drink?" He asked her.**

**"Ah.. drink?" Zella asked.**

**Gob nodded, eyeing her. **

**"You need something? Anything?" He asked.**

**"Um... I haven't got any money, I'm sorry." She told him. "So... no thanks. But um... thank you anyway."**

**Gob stared at her for a moment.**

**"You're not gonna hit me?" He asked.**

**Zella blinked, wondering if she'd heard him right.**

**"What...?" **

**"You... you're not gonna hit me? Even, er... berate me a little bit?" Gob asked her, seeming perplexed.**

**"Why would I?" Zella responded, now genuinely confused.**

**"Well... that's a first. I'm used to every asshole smoothskin giving me shit just because I look like a corpse. Nice to meet someone decent..." Gob said, looking off.**

**"Really?" Zella said. "Well, I... I'm not gonna... do that."**

**Gob met her gaze, and his mouth seemed to crinkle into a small, crooked smile.**

**"Thanks." He said.**

**Zella returned the grin.**

**"Hey, uh... I'm looking for my dad. He's a middle aged guy, he'd be wearing a vault uniform kinda like mine. Have you seen him?" She asked him.**

**"Well, uh... I think I did see somebody like that. But Moriarty... if anyone came through here, they would've come to do business with him... you ought to ask him." Gob told her.**

**"Gob... if you know anything, will you just tell me? Please? Its really important." Zella asked him.**

**Gob stared at her for a moment, then released a sigh.**

**"I was like you once." He said. "Wandered into town, looking for an escape from this joke of a body I'm trapped in... and ended up finding this place. Listen, kid... if Moriarty is hiding anything about your dad, it'll be on his terminal in the back. But you didn't hear that from me."**

**Zella smiled, nodding.**

**"Well, well... now what 'ave we got here." A voice came, making Gob jump.**

**A peculiar man with graying hair emerged from the back room, glaring at Gob like a serpent about to strike its prey. **

**"What're ya' doing, talking to my customers as though yer' some kind of equal to 'em? You get your sorry arse back to work, ya' pathetic zombie, before I have ya' sold to the nearest band of slavers."**

**"Yes sir." Gob said, hanging his head, then turning and walking away, avoiding any eye contact with Moriarty.**

**"Now, now... what can I getcha' lassy?" Moriarty asked Zella, who was staring at him in a low, unfavoring way.**

**"Have you seen my dad?" Zella asked him, ignoring her rising feelings of distaste for this man. "He's a middle aged guy, wearing a vault get-up. Has he come through here?"**

**Moriarty gazed into her eyes for a moment, then, his mouth hung open for a moment.**

**"Oh, my... its ****_you. _****The little baby of the vault... you're James's little baby. Oh, I remember ya' when you were jut a year old..." He said.**

**Zella, pondering on this, remained quiet. Everyone had always told her that she and her father were born in the vault, but hearing otherwise wasn't the most surprising thing that had happened today...**

**"Yeah, I seen him. But what you're askin' for is information, and information isn't free, lassy. I'm very careful about who I give my information to." Moriarty said.**

**Zella's eye twitched. Her dislike for Moriarty seemed to be growing at an alarming rate, making her stomach turn.**

**"I don't have any money." She said.**

**"Then I'm afraid I got nothin' to tell you." Moriarty replied coldly, then walked away, leaving her sitting by her lonesome.**

**After a moment of sitting in silence, Zella decided there was nothing more to be gained by being in this place, so she stood, then headed for the door...**

**Something in the corner of her eye caught her attention.**

**A man, sitting in the corner, waving at her, gesturing for her to approach him.**

**He was a shady looking man, wearing a tan suit, a fedora, and glasses that tinted over hit eyes. Still, she could tell that his eyes were stuck on her.**

**Zella walked towards him.**

**"My, my..." The man said in a smooth, strange voice. "Look at that. You're an outsider to Megaton, aren't you?"**

**Zella, feeling uncomfortable, nodded.**

**"And that makes you very, very useful." He said.**

**"It does...?" Zella asked.**

**The man nodded.**

**"My name is Mr. Burke. Now... you look like someone who would appreciate a few caps. Is that right...?"**

**Zella, assuming that caps were thought to be something of value, shrugged.**

**"You're useful because you have no attachment to this town. No... reason to preserve it. No strings attached." Burke explained, seeming to be speaking in a hushed tone. "I have a job for an outsider like you..."**

**Zella exhaled a slow breath, unhappy with the conversation.**

**"The bomb." He whispered. "I want you to blow it up for me. You do that... and you will be paid handsomely. And I'll even give you a place to live. Now, how does that sound...?"**

**Zella felt a chill slither down her spine.**

**"No." She told him.**

**Burke stared at her curiously.**

**"I.. I can't do that. I won't do it." Zella said, shaking her head. Then, she departed the Saloon without another word.**

**After exiting the Saloon, she stared over the town, overlooking the people, the buildings, the bomb, then staring off into the sky, sighing, still barely able to believe the kind of day she was having.**


	3. The Power of Atom

**"He ****_what?" _****Lucas Simms exclaimed.**

**"He asked me to destroy the town." Zella explained to him. "He wanted me to detonate the bomb. I... I don't really understand why, but..."**

**"Jesus fucking Christ. Alright, kid... thanks for telling me. Follow me. You're about to get a lesson in civil justice." Lucas said, just before pulling out his assault rifle and jogging down the hill, Zella following close behind.**

**The two of them made their way back to the Saloon, Zella's heart throbbing anxiously. When they burst through the doors, Lucas stormed up to Burke, pressing the barrel of his rifle against Burke's forehead.**

**Gob and Moriarty, along with a couple of Saloon customers, watched nervously.**

**"Burke, what kind of game are you playing." Lucas demanded, looking furious.**

**"Sheriff... I believe there's been a... misunderstanding." Burke mumbled ominously, giving an odd, muffled chuckle.**

**"That bomb... you're trying to blow it up. Have you lost your goddamn mind?" Lucas snarled.**

**As the two men continued their tense conversation, Moriarty made his way around the counter, approaching them.**

**"What the devil's goin' on here? I'm tryin' to run a business ya' know!" Moriarty scolded the sheriff.**

**"Stay out of it, Moriarty." Lucas ordered.**

**"I won't 'ave this in my Saloon!" **

**"I said shut UP, Moriarty." Lucas yelled without taking his eyes off Burke. "Now Burke, you come with me. You're under arrest... at least until I find out what the hell's going on around here."**

**Zella watched them all from feet away, she and Gob seeming to feel the same sensation of uncomfortable displacement. **

**"I'm sorry, sheriff... I'm afraid I can't oblige your... request." Burke told him, his eyebrows perching from behind his sunglasses.**

**"I'm not giving you an option. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." Lucas told him, jabbing Burke's head with his rifle's barrel.**

**Burke, wearing an unreadable expression, was silent for a moment.**

**"I'm tellin' you, get the fuck outta' my Saloon. The BOTH of ya'!" Moriarty told them angrily.**

**"Well?" Lucas said, glaring at Burke.**

**Burke let slip a tiny, eerie smirk. Zella wondered if anyone else noticed it...**

**"Very well, sheriff. Lead the way." He agreed.**

**Lucas stood upright, lowering his gun, and Moriarty began to turn, ready to head back to his back room... though the second they had their backs turned, Burke made a swift movement, and there wasn't enough time for Zella to cry out...**

**A few rapid gunshots rang throughout the Saloon... Moriarty and Lucas both dropped like flies... Burke had shot them both... Zella made a grab for her pistol, aimed-**

**BANG.**

**One crack shot to the head, and Burke dropped to the ground, his brains now splattered on the wall behind his once living body...**

**Zella had no idea how much time passed as she stood there, still holding her gun at the ready, her hands trembling terribly. She'd killed him... ****_she'd killed a man... _**

**Everyone in the Saloon stood in a shocked silence for what seemed like hours, until finally, Zella lowered her pistol, forcing herself to breathe.**

**Was this considered normal...?**

**Was this just another day in the wasteland...?**

_**Why haven't I woken up from this dream yet? **_

* * *

**The sun was setting yonder west, though Zella wasn't paying much mind to it now. She and Gob had spent the afternoon cleaning the horrid mess inside the Saloon, then burying Lucas Simms and Moriarty in a dirt patch along the side of the town.**

**"This coat stinks." Zella said, straightening the collar of the sheriff's duster that she was now wearing.**

**"Well... its had a dead man in it." Gob commented.**

**Zella nodded, trying not to think about it.**

**"I hope I'm not being too disrespectful here... just taking his clothes..." Zella said, staring at the fresh grave of Lucas Simms. She'd only met him earlier in the day, and here she was, standing over his grave...**

**"Ain't gonna be much use to him now, I don't think." Gob told her. "And neither is his gun. You may as well take it, kid."**

**"You don't want the gun?" Zella asked.**

**"I don't really got a use for it. Not like I'm going anywhere." Gob said.**

**"But... but Moriarty's dead. You don't have to stay here anymore, do you?" Zella asked.**

**"I dunno. But... well, with him gone, I s'pose I can take ownership of the Saloon. So, er... I guess that gives me a reason to stick around, don't it?" Gob said, cocking his head. "Moriarty was a hateful old bastard... but, burying him is the least I could do. I got off easy, having him die like that... I hate to say that, but... its true."**

**Zella nodded, unable to find the right words to say.**

**"Thanks for helping me clean up the shop, kid. You're a good kid." Gob told her.**

**"Its the least ****_I _****could do." Zella responded. "I just wanted to help, I guess."**

**"I guess its my lucky day, then." Gob said, glancing up at the wasteland sunset. "I made a friend... and Moriarty died."**

**Zella laughed.**

**They met each other's gaze, then Gob quickly looked away.**

**"I mean, er... sorry." He muttered.**

**"For what?" Zella asked him.**

**"For, uh... saying you were my friend... sorry." He continued to stare off, seeming as though he was afraid to make eye contact.**

**Zella took a moment before responding. **

**"We can be friends." She said. "That's not gonna offend me or anything."**

**Gob continued to stare into the sky.**

**"You must be used to nothing but assholes." Zella said to him. "Hey... we're friends, alright?" She patted his shoulder.**

**Gob looked at her again, appearing quite taken. His blue, milky eyes were staring into her, wearing a profound, odd emotion.**

**"You sure about that?" He asked. "I'm not the kinda company that's gonna attract anything nice for you, kid..."**

**"Well... _you're_ nice." Zella said. "You're the only nice thing I've found out here so far."**

**Gob continued to gaze into her eyes for a moment, his decaying face softening.**

**"Yeah, likewise." He said.**

**"Hey, do you think anyone here knows anything about explosives?" Zella asked.**

**Gob blinked.**

**"I don't know." He said.**

**"If someone can help me out... I might be able to disarm that bomb. I mean... some other maniac might try to come here and destroy the town like Mr. Burke did." Zella said.**

**"That's got nothing to do with you, kid. Why're you worried about it?" Gob asked.**

**Zella went silent for a moment, thinking.**

**"I dunno." She said. "I guess because I made a friend here... and I don't really like thinking about my friends dying. Not if I can stop it."**

**Gob gulped, his eyes now fixed intently on the sunset.**

**"What's wrong?" Zella asked, glimpsing at him.**

**"Hm? Oh, nothing. Nothing." Gob said, shaking his head, still not looking at her. "Listen, uh... I've gotta go back to the Saloon... gotta start closing up for the night. I'll seeya' tomorrow, kid..."**

**Gob turned and marched away, careful not to let Zella see the single tear rolling down his jagged, rotting cheek.**

* * *

**Before now, Zella had never awoken to a sunrise before.**

**And as beautiful as it was, waking up in a patch of dirt, curled in between two fresh graves could only be _so _pleasurable.**

**Zella stood, wiping the dirt off her duster, then stared at the two graves for a moment. She'd almost forgotten what had happened the day before.**

** She released a yawn, stretching her back, every bone in her spine pop-pop-popping from top to bottom. Her night was anything but comfortable... she'd had about five hours of restless sleep as her rapid, chaotic dreams ate away at her subconscious... vault officers chasing after her, shooting at her, as Andy continued to burn them alive in her defense... then Mr. Burke showed up, throwing handfuls of raisins at the combat-ready Andy for some reason... **

**The sun was weak as of now, though it provided enough orangeish-yellow light for Zella to look at the town, watching all the settlers as they flocked to the food stand for breakfast. The old man was standing in front of the bomb again, preaching about the power of Atom, though no one was paying him much mind right now, because all the towners were hungry for their morning meals.**

**Zella headed straight up to the Saloon. She pushed the door open, sat on a stool, and waited for someone to serve her.**

**Gob came from the back room, rubbing one of his eyes.**

**"Morning, kiddo." He said.**

**"Morning. Do you have food here?" Zella asked him.**

**"Eh. If that's what you wanna call it." Gob said, shrugging. Zella smiled. "I'll getcha' something to eat, kid."**

**"I sold some of my stuff to the food lady out there." Zella said. "How many caps do I need to pay you for breakfast?"**

**"Uh... well, today's my first day being a free employee, so I'll just fix you up with a freebe, kid." Gob said. "What the hell."**

**"Really?" Zella said.**

**"Yeah, but don't let anyone else see me give you anything for free... cause then everyone's gonna want a piece of charity." Gob told her, pressing his finger to his lips in a "shushing" way.**

**Zella nodded. "Thanks!"**

**"Ehhhh, don't worry about it." Gob said, waving his hand. "Oh, kid, listen... you wanted someone to help you out with messing with explosives, right? If you go down to Craterside Supply... this little store just a little bit further down the way from here... you'll find Moria Brown. She can give you a book or a magazine that'll give you a few tips on tinkering with explosives. You'll have to buy it from her, though."**

**"Really?" Zella asked, grinning broadly. "Oh, that's awesome. Thanks Gob!"**

**"No trouble, kid." Gob responded, giving a half-smile.**

**After inhaling her breakfast, Zella took another sip of her water, waved at Gob, and headed out the door. She circled down the metal walkway until she found a shack with a sign labeled; _Craterside Supply. _**

**After entering the store, she spotted a perky, oddly happy looking woman standing behind the counter. **

**"Well, hello there!" The woman known as Moria said cheerfully.**

**"Do you have any magazines on explosives?" Zella asked immediately.**

**"Well, sure I do. What ever do you need it for?" Moria asked.**

**"I'm gonna disarm the bomb in the town." Zella told her.**

**"Oh, my." Moria said. "Well, if you think you can... I might need about thirty caps for that, though."**

**"What?" Zella said before she could stop herself. She didn't have enough caps for it...**

**"I'm sorry, kiddo, I only have one explosives special magazine left. I'm afraid I can't sell it for less than thirty." Moria told her, making a sorrowful face.**

**Zella looked down for a moment, then slipped her hand into her satchel and pulled out another magazine.**

**"What about a trade?" She asked, holding up Grognak the Barbarian.**

**"Oh my!" Moria yelped, her eyes lighting up. "Oh, I haven't been able to find Grognak _anywhere! _Well, sure, that seems like a fair trade! Here you are."**

**Moria ruffled through a metal box full of books, pulled out the explosives magazine, and handed it to Zella in exchange for Grognak the Barbarian.**

**Zella watched Moria carry the comic book away. Well, she'd read that old comic enough times anyway... not like she really needed it anymore.**

**"Thanks, seeya." Zella headed out the door.**

**Soon after, she found herself sitting cross-legged feet away from the Megaton bomb, flipping through the magazine, trying to grasp the most important details about how bombs worked. She wanted very much to disarm the bomb right away, but she wanted to be sure she understood the instructions first.**

**Zella sat in the dirt for nearly an hour, making damn sure she understood how to forever disarm the bomb, so that no one could ever blow up the town.**

**Finally, she reached her feet, and a few of the Megaton settlers, who had been keeping a suspicious eye on her, were now watching her closely as she stepped into the radioactive water, then prying the metal of the bomb open. She reached inside and grasped a hold of the parts, the ones she were sure were the _right _ones, and she then began to yank them apart.**

**Almost expecting the bomb to somehow detonate itself if she were to somehow screw up, Zella stepped away from the bomb after tearing the inside of it apart.**

**Relieved that the bomb didn't explode in the process, Zella released a cloud of breath, then marched away, more proud than she'd ever been in her life.**


	4. Just Another Day

**Two days had passed since Zella's escape from Vault 101.**

**At first, after disarming the bomb, Zella was highly tempted to shout to the heavens that the bomb was inactive, that the town was no longer in danger, that everyone was safe... but she decided instead not to tell anyone, not to seek any attention for disarming the bomb.**

**Still, after sitting in the Saloon for about an hour, making small talk with Gob and a couple of other settlers (who were unusually polite to Gob today, for some reason), Zella turned around when a small hand yanked on the cloth of her duster.**

**Zella looked down, and standing beside her was a small child, maybe ten years old, who looked incredibly familiar, although she was sure she'd never seen him before.**

**Gob, Zella, and the two random towners looked at the child, all seeming to wonder why he had wandered into a Saloon by himself.**

**"Hey, are you Zella?" The kid asked.**

**Zella nodded.**

**"Somebody in town told me that you disarmed the bomb." The kid said.**

**Gob and the two towners eyed her, all looking bemused.**

**"What?" Zella gasped, trying to figure out who could have possibly told him this. She hadn't told anyone what she did...**

**"Somebody who saw you break the bomb open, they came and told me... told me my dad would want to reward you, so I should give you this." The child said, opening his hand, revealing a small, silvery shining key.**

**Of course, she knew. Other people were around when she disarmed the bomb, she wasn't exactly trying to hide it...**

**"Your dad?" Zella asked.**

**"Yeah, the sheriff." The kid said, nodding, revealing a slight frown.**

**A sharp jolt of guilt spiked through Zella, from her gut to her chest. **

**_This was Lucas Simm's child. _**

**"Oh..." Zella mumbled, her tone lightening drastically. "Wh... what's the key for?"**

**"A room in one of the apartments here. Its next to the entrance, up the hill... there's an empty apartment that's all yours now." The kid explained.**

**Zella felt a warm, fuzzy sensation spread through her.**

_**They were simply giving her a home? For... free? **_

**"I... I can't just take-"**

**"Kid, you disarmed that thing without expecting any payment or anything." Gob told her from across the counter. "Just take it, you need it."**

**Zella stared at Gob for a moment.**

**"Are you the one who told him I-?"**

**"Just take it, kid." Gob said. "Better than sleeping in the dirt."**

**Zella sighed, then took the key, giving the child a weak smile.**

**"Thanks." She said. "I'm sorry... about your dad."**

**"He had a dangerous job." He replied. "He told me this might happen one day. I'm... I'm not too sad. I miss him, but... I'm proud of him. And I'm gonna be the sheriff when I get older."**

**"Damn right you are." Zella told him, giving him a single nod, grinning and patting his head. "And... listen, kiddo... if you ever need anything... like, if you need someone to look after you... you're welcome to my house, anytime."**

**"Yeah, I'll visit." The child told her, returning the grin.**

**Discovering the inside of her new home was the most wonderful experience ever, since she'd crawled out of the vault. The first time she turned the key and opened the door, she was startled to come face to face with a floating robot.**

**"Greetings, Madame!" The Mr. Handy bot said, instantly making Zella think of Andy.**

**"H-hi?" Zella stammered, staring at him.**

**"I am your butler, Wadsworth, Madame. May I get you anything?" Wadsworth asked.**

**Zella bit her lip, still a bit taken back.**

**"So... the house just comes with a butler, huh." She said.**

**"Why yes, Madame. It was my job to take care of this house until it was occupied as ordered by the town sheriff, and now that you live here, Madame, I am here not only to serve the home, but to serve you as well." Wadsworth explained.**

**"Oh... well... that's pretty awesome." Zella admitted. **

**"Do you require anything from me as of now, Madame?" The robot asked.**

**"No... not right now, but thanks anyway, Andy-" Zella stopped for a moment. "I mean, er... Wadsworth. Thanks."**

**"Not at all, Madame." The robot saluted her, then floated away.**

**Zella was a little surprised at how clean the robot was able to keep the place on his own, and even more surprised to find the fridge stocked with food and water. Feeling luckier than ever, Zella ventured up the stairs, found a bed, and flopped down, finally allowing herself to rest a bit.**

**She hadn't realized that she was becoming a little cozy here in Megaton, and before she knew it, two days had passed her by, during which she was resting in her bed, listening to Wadsworth tell her jokes, and hanging around in the Saloon all afternoon and well into the evening, until she and Gob were the only ones left, chit-chatting and conversing, and Zella would offer to help Gob close up shop.**

**Here she sat, in the same seat of the Saloon where she always sat, the sunset outside making the rays of sunlight dim down and eventually fade from the Saloon windows.**

**"You really don't have to help me close up every night, kid." Gob said to her, circling a rag around the inside of a cup, cleaning it.**

**"Eh, why not? Its not like I have anything better to do. And I like helping." Zella told him, thinking of her father, feeling guilty, and shaking the thought away.**

**"Don't you need to go find your dad?" Gob asked.**

**Zella looked at him silently for a moment.**

**"I... I'm not saying I want you to leave or anything." Gob quickly added. "Just, er... you seemed pretty worried about him when you first wandered into town."**

**"Yeah." Zella looked down. "I... I'm not sure I really wanna know what he's been up to. I never got a chance to ask Moriarty... I wouldn't even know where to start."**

**Gob stared at her for a moment.**

**"Wait here a sec." He told her, then turned and vanished into the back room.**

**Zella sat alone in the Saloon for a moment, with nothing to keep her company except for the sound of Galaxy News Radio, though it was still playing through a thick filter of static, making Three Dog's voice barely audible.**

**Gob returned a moment later, then leaned on the counter, staring at Zella solemnly.**

**Zella returned the gaze, looking the slightest bit confused.**

**"Your dad was headed up to Galaxy News Radio, apparently." Gob told her.**

**"What?" Zella asked, befoggled. "How do you know?"**

**"Moriarty's terminal." Gob said. "So, whenever you decide to go get him... that's where you oughta' start."**

**"Gob." Zella said, standing. "Come here."**

**Gob blinked at her, wearing a somewhat stumped expression.**

**"Why?" He asked.**

**"Just come here. Come around the counter." Zella told him.**

**Gob took a moment, giving her an odd look, then he walked around the counter and approached her. Zella stepped towards him... and what happened next nearly made his heart stop.**

**Zella wrapped her arms around Gob, embracing him like a long lost brother.**

**Gob froze, completely flustered.**

**After what felt like hours of disoriented shock, he finally returned the hug.**

**Then, Zella stepped back, wearing a smile.**

**"You deserve a hug." She told him.**

**Gob stood rooted to the spot, mouth hanging agape, at a loss for words.**

**"I think I'll have to leave tomorrow." Zella said, glancing down. "I... I really like it here. I wish I could just stay... but I have to find my dad."**

**Gob was still silent, watching her, seemingly unable to create words.**

**"I'll be back." Zella assured him. "Keep business going until I get back home, alright? Tell Nova to take it easy, too... she doesn't have a selfish Irish prick for a boss anymore, so she doesn't have to sleep around to earn him money anymore. Oh... and tell Lucy I'll stop by and see her family if I'm ever around Arefu, I never did give her a straight answer about that. Okay? And look after Lucas's kid for me too."**

**Gob didn't say anything. After a moment, he nodded.**

**"I'll stop by in the morning before I leave. I'm gonna go home and sleep... got a big day tomorrow. Goodnight, Gob." Zella said, waving him off, then heading out the door, leaving Gob standing board stiff in the Saloon, still as discombobulated as ever.**

* * *

**The night lasted longer than she thought it would, and although she fell asleep at an early eight-thirty, Zella slept well into the morning. She didn't manage to roll out of bed until around nine am. She sat up, stretched, then picked up a few random items from her house, along with a few bottles of purified water and a bit of food, hoping to barter at the food stand in order to get a few more caps for the road.**

**"Hey, Wadsworth." Zella said after reaching the bottom of the stairs.**

**"Yes, Madame?"**

**"Look after the town for me while I'm gone, please. Just... don't hurt anyone unless you have to." Zella told him, then pulled the sheriff badge off the torso of her duster, and stuck it to the head of the robotic Wadsworth.**

**"Why yes, Madame. I shall be the best sheriff this town has ever seen." Wadsworth told her, giving her another salute with one of his long metal appendages.**

**Zella nodded, then walked out her front door. After trading a few unneeded items at the food stand, she made a last visit to the Saloon.**

**Gob, of course, had to tend to his other customers, but he made time to chat with Zella for about twenty minutes before she decided it was time to leave. **

**Zella gave him a hug goodbye, startling him just as badly as it had before, then departed, giving him a farewell-for-now smile, and exiting the Saloon.**

**After marching up the hill, approaching the great gates of Megaton, Zella scanned over the town once more, before heading out the gates and into the Capitol Wasteland.**


	5. Scrapyard

**Zella spent the entire day wandering around the wastes, avoiding an old abandoned school inhabited by some less-than-friendly-looking characters, and heading a little farther north than she probably should have.**

**It was incredibly unnerving, traveling around this barren hostile world by herself, but what choice did she have? **

**Her Pip-Boy provided a pretty clear map, but she wasn't entirely sure which direction was which, so as of now, Zella was completely winging it, hoping dearly that she was traveling in, more or less, the right direction.**

**Hours passed, and Zella's legs began to ache. She'd been doing a great job of rationing her water, so she decided it was time to take another swig... she was growing terribly exhausted. As the day pressed on, and the early afternoon set in, Zella was beginning to regret not buying herself a sheriff's hat to match the duster, because the sun was becoming annoyingly blinding, shining directly into her eyes every time she attempted to stare directly forward.**

**Zella squinted through the brightness, breathing heavily.**

**It was a little while longer before some kind of structure became visible in the distance... some kind of old, abandoned place, a big stone wall built around the sides of a ditch, which seemed to be full of massive amounts of junk. Mountains of destroyed objects and old cars...**

**Zella stood on top of the big stone wall, staring at the scrapyard, wondering if she might be able to salvage anything in this old junk yard for a small profit...**

**A few noises erupted nearby-loud, deafening gunshots, making Zella leap backwards. She stared around the scrapyard, attempting to locate the source of the noises...**

**A few Raiders emerged from behind a big structure in the scrapyard, all seeming to be combat ready, wielding a couple of guns and a few knives, yelling and screaming... **

**Just then, an animal flew out from behind a mountain of scraps, tackling one of the Raiders to the ground, killing him almost instantly. The dog dashed away from the body, making a b-line for the other Raiders, who were rounding on him...**

**Zella jumped from the top of the stone wall, landing crookedly in the scrapyard, a sharp pain shooting up her ankle, but she ignored it. She rushed forward, pulled out her pistol, and-**

**BANG.**

**One of the Raiders dropped to the ground lifelessly. **

**The last remaining Raider raised his arm, preparing to stab the dog-**

**BANG.**

**Zella fired again, this time shooting the Raider in the arm, hoping not to kill him... but then, the dog jumped onto the Raider, sinking his teeth into the man's neck and tearing a great chunk of skin off him... he was dead before he hit the ground...**

**Afterwards, the dog backed away from his now dead attackers, seeming a bit calmer now.**

**Zella lowered her gun, but didn't put it away just yet. Her heart skipped a beat when the dog came towards her... she half expected it to attack her, until it stopped a foot away from her, sat down, and peered up at her wanderingly.**

**"H-hey, boy." Zella said, putting her gun away. "Are you okay?"**

**The dog made a soft whining noise. Despite his ferocious attacks, he seemed rather tame now... Zella suspected that this dog, at one time, had a human owner.**

**Zella placed her hand gently on the dog's head, stroking him tenderly. The dog rubbed against her, accepting the pets gracefully, giving another couple of whines.**

**"Did you lose your owner, boy?" She asked.**

**He whined again.**

**"I Know how you feel, I lost my dad." Zella told the dog, continuing to pet him. "You're a really good fighter, you know that? Those Raiders almost turned you into dogmeat."**

**The dog licked the inside of her palm lovingly.**

**"Dogmeat." Zella said. "You like that name, huh."**

**The dog released a yelping noise, almost as if he was signifying his approval.**

**"Okay then, Dogmeat. You wanna come with me?" Zella said, pulling out a stick of iguana bits from her satchel and offering them to him. He gobbled them off the stick in two bites flat.**

**I think I need to go a little further east..." Zella mumbled, examining her Pip-Boy. "I'm glad I came this way, though. I made another friend."**

**After petting Dogmeat again, she began towards the gateway of the scrapyard, her new companion following suit, sticking close by her ankles the whole way.**


	6. Subway to the Lyons Pride

**It could have been a full hour, during which Zella was standing at the head of the large set of stone stairs, staring down at the entrance to the subway tunnel. Everything about this situation was screaming danger, but every other possible route seemed to be blocked by gigantic walls of debris, which used to be buildings... the tunnel was the only way to travel further east..**

**Dogmeat sat by her side, panting, waiting for Zella's next action.**

**Anticipating the unpleasantness awaiting her underground, Zella gulped, then began down the stairs, pushed the gates open, and entered the dark and smelly tunnel.**

**Zella remained cautious, stepping as slowly and carefully as possible until her eyes adjusted to the dark. The tunnel seemed incredibly quiet... too quiet for comfort...**

**Then, she spotted a flickering light... a large, red and white box, sitting on the corner ahead. She drew closer to it, staring at it, until she was able to make out the words written on it...**

**It was an old Nuka-Cola machine.**

**Suddenly feeling excited, Zella knelt down and reached her arm inside of the machine, bending it at an awkward angle, groping around the inside of the machine until she was able to feel the presence of three bottles. She pulled all the bottles out one by one, overjoyed to find out that they were fresh and unopened Nuka-Colas.**

**Zella launched her fist in the air, making a gesture of victory, and whispering ****_"Yes!" _****Then, began shoving the bottles into her satchel. She didn't notice the oncoming danger until it was only a yard apart from her...**

**Just after the last bottle was placed in her bag, she glanced up... she only caught sight of it for a split second before-**

**"GRRRRGH!"**

**Dogmeat rocketed past her shoulder, colliding with a monstrous mole rat. He tore the flesh off the rat's shoulder, forcing it backwards, making it squeal in pain. Dogmeat delivered the final blow, and the rat flumped down, motionless.**

**Zella was frozen in her crouching position, trying her hardest not to shake. She kept staring at the dead rat, completely petrified.**

**Two minutes in the tunnel, and she'd already nearly been killed...**

**"Okay... we should move on." Zella said in a shaky voice, reaching her feet.**

**Suddenly, she was missing Megaton quite a bit... her home, her robotic butler, her friend Gob... she'd give anything to be in the comfort of her bed right now.**

**Still, she pressed on, only to discover that the subway was partially caved in, and only some of the old tunnels were accessible, some blocked by debris, and some blocked by old trains from over a century ago.**

**An echoing, raspy yell grasped her attention, jolting her heart, her breath growing rapid. She heard the pitter-patter of light, fast footsteps from behind... she spun around...**

**At first, she thought it was an ordinary person, but it turned out to be another humanoid figure suffering from the same skin disease that Gob was... only much worse. The eyes of the creature were vacant, and its skin was so sunken in it looked as though he was harboring no muscles or organs, only bones. The creature let out another hoarse yell, just before lunging at her-**

**BANG.**

**Zella pulled the trigger without thinking, overcome by sheer fright.**

**The ghoul's head exploded into a few hundred pieces, leaving a splatter trail of brains and blood everywhere surrounding her, spots of it landing on her sleeve, and on her cheek...**

**Zella, now unable to stop herself from trembling, gulped, wishing dearly that she could be anywhere but here.**

* * *

**Traveling the subways had been a complete nightmare.**

**More feral ghouls showed themselves as she marched deeper into the subway, and she and Dogmeat were forced to exterminate them. They also ran into a lone Raider, who tried to ambush them-but luckily, Dogmeat sensed his presence before he could hope to do any damage.**

**Zella, after killing the Raider, hit her knees right beside to the exit of the tunnel, leaning against the wall, her stomach twisting and turning uncomfortably. She sat on her knees, hunched over for a moment or so, just before vomiting what little food was in her stomach, emptying herself completely. Zella was doubting her ability to cope with life in the wastes... oh God... ****_Oh God, I can't handle killing anymore... please... please don't make me shoot anyone else, God.. please make this stop... I can't... I can't do this... _**

**Zella remained slouching over, looking away from the pile of half-digested iguana bits lying on the concrete in front of her. After another moment of trying to adjust herself, she released a huge breath, took another sip of water for hydration (and to eliminate the nasty taste stuck in her mouth), then stood slowly, pushed the door open, and exited the tunnel.**

**Everything inside her was hoping desperately that, on the outside of this subway, she'd find an empty, quiet area, somewhere far from any more danger... somewhere she wouldn't be forced to shed more blood...**

**But, alas, she didn't get her wish.**

**The second she and Dogmeat emerged on the outside, a zillion gunshots were ringing through the air, seeming to come from every direction. Zella, stopping halfway up the stone stairs, crouched down, trying to force herself to remain calm, and only half succeeding.**

**Dogmeat was barking loudly at the top of the stairs.**

**Zella snapped her eyes shut, clutching her head, screwing up her hair... God.. ****_God, why am I here... I can't do this... I can't... I can't do it... I'm going to die... I'm gonna die... _**

**Every ounce of her strength was dedicated to fighting down the mad desire to burst into tears. She didn't know exactly how long she sat there, eyes shut, cradling herself, hiding from whatever was popping off out there...**

**Time passed.**

**Hell... it felt as though an eternity had passed her by, and after a while, she began to notice that the gunshots were growing more and more distant... the fight was on the move...**

**Dogmeat licked in between Zella's fingers, hoping to comfort her. He whined, then pressed his nose in between her arm and her head, trying his best to reach her face.**

**Zella, hesitant, looked up.**

**Dogmeat pressed his warm, flat tongue against her cheek, licking it softly. **

**Her cheek ached a little bit, reminding Zella of the bruise she'd gotten in the vault, when the vault officer hit her...**

**If this was, indeed, a dream, as she'd suspected before... it was the longest, deadliest, most realistic, most horrific dream she'd ever had in her life...**

**But now, she was slowly beginning to accept that this was, in fact, not a dream.**

**This was her real, honest life, unfolding before her...**

**It was real.**

**She felt every bruise, every scrape, every heart ache, every tremble, every flicker of fear, every revolting sensation of sickness with every time she'd watched someone die thus far... it was very, ****_very_**** real.**

_**It was not a dream.**_

**With every bombarding emotion following this revelation, Zella was staring at Dogmeat as though she'd never seen anything quite like him before. Her arms coiled around his neck, and she gave him a long, intimate hug, still forcing down the urge to cry, swallowing the tears, and burying her face in her companion's fur.**

**"C-come on, boy." Zella said in a soft voice, carefully standing, exhaling a long, deep breath. "I guess we've gotta move... we don't have a choice."**

**Dogmeat kept close by her side as she climbed up the stairs.**

**It was amazing, in the most terrifying way... the city of DC was shrouded in a massive cloud of greenish-gray air, and most of the buildings looked almost completely demolished. Zella hadn't expected to reach the heart of the city this soon, but now that she was here, she only hoped she could find Galaxy News Radio and pick up her father's trail without dying.**

**The gun shots were still blasting, although they were much farther away now... and, to her displeasure, Zella realized that, according to her Pip-Boy, the direction she needed to travel was, in fact, in the same direction as the gun shots...**

**The two of them began down the broken road , and Zella kept an eye out, hoping to spot any danger before it could sneak up on them. After a while of walking, a few people came into sight... not Raiders, thankfully, but instead, some strange looking people wearing unbelievably thick, metal armor... all of them fighting, all of them shooting...**

**Across the way, Zella spotted what looked like giant green people, shooting at the Brotherhood members, all yelling in deep, incomprehensible growls.**

**"What the fuck...?" Zella whispered under her breath, staring at the enormous green people, who were, despite their massive size, losing the fire fight. After another minute or so, the last green person fell, meaning the armor-wearing folks had won.**

**Zella came closer to the Brotherhood members, staring at them curiously.**

**The leader of the Brotherhood sect, a blonde woman wearing her hair tied back into a ponytail, shot a particularly nasty look at Zella.**

**"Look, I don't know who you are, but you don't belong here." The woman snapped.**

**Zella felt a stab of anger, no longer feeling compelled, now only agitated.**

**"Excuse me?" Zella said.**

**"We're clearing this area, trying to get to the radio tower... and the place is crawling with super mutants. The last thing we need is some stupid local, wandering in and getting in our way."**

**The two of them glared at each other for a few seconds, their eyes burning into one another.**

**"Do me a favor." Zella said. "Fuck off."**

**"Hey, you wanna know something, kid?" The woman said. "Being cocky will get you killed out here. If you don't wanna die, you can follow us... but don't get in our way, and don't do anything stupid."**

**At that, the woman turned and marched off, leading her people down a narrow alleyway. Zella, deciding to follow them, made sure not to let any of them hear her mutter ****_"Bitch." _**

**As they proceeded carefully down the alleyway, Zella eavesdropped on their conversations with one another, patting Dogmeat, pretending all her attention was on him...**

**"Clear the area, put all of them out of their misery." Sentinel Lyons told them. **

**The Lyons Pride obeyed, then rushed out of the alleyway and began firing into the crown of super mutants across from them. Zella followed, watching in complete awe, until all the visible super mutants were dead. She and Dogmeat followed them into a broken down building, where more mutants were hiding. **

**Her foot caught onto something, and she looked down.**

**Right in front of her was a discarded hunting rifle.**

**Zella stared at it for a moment, then, for some unknown reason, she decided to pick it up-cock it-and begin firing. Lost in a sea of adrenaline, Zella zoomed in, locking her eyes on the center of a super mutant's forehead, just before blowing its head into pieces...**

**Zella continued to assist the Lyon's Pride, and oddly, she didn't feel half as sick and frightened as she had earlier... the blood flowing through her veins, her throbbing heart, her drive to survive... it was almost enjoyable now... terrifying, frightening, and such, _such _a rush...**

**Before any of them knew it, they reached a circle in the center of the block, almost entirely blocked off from the rest of the city... and just across from them was the entrance to the radio tower, and to Galaxy News Radio.**

**Zella, Dogmeat, and the Lyon's Pride ran into the circle, after finishing off the last few super mutants surrounding them. Zella lead Dogmeat onto the stairs, and she pressed her finger on the intercom.**

**"No way... we're not opening those doors until the area is completely clear." Came a voice out of the speaker.**

**Zella turned, reading the environment. There didn't seem to be any super mutants left...**

**"Wohoooo!" One of the Brotherhood mebmers hollered, blasting a rew rounds into the air, her assault rifle aimed at the sky.**

**"Stop that, Reddin... you're wasting ammo!" Another member scolded.**

**"Ah, come on... we just kicked their asses." The initiate Reddin responded.**

**Then, a huge, loud rumbling erupted from somewhere nearby, and the entire ground shook like a quake of thunder... Zella braced herself, glancing in all directions, and Dogmeat began to growl...**

**"Positions!" Sarah Lyons yelled.**

**Everyone took a corner of the circle, preparing for more super mutants to come in from any direction, and initiate Reddin dashed forward, facing a huge wall of old cars and building debris. And, if Zella hadn't imagined it, she could have sworn she heard some very large, very slow, ground-shaking stomps...**

**"Reddin! Reddin, get outta there!" Someone yelled.**

**Zella hardly had time to blink, just as a stupendous, ear-splitting explosion took place, sending the wall of debris flying apart, large car parts raining down from above... along with Reddin's body...**

**It was unthinkable.**

**Stepping through the clearing was an infinite, colossal sized super mutant... bigger than any of the buildings nearby... and carrying a broad, giant stick...**

**"_Jesus fuck!" _Zella hissed, although, through all the sounds... the gunshots, screaming, and building bashing was so loud that she was unable to even hear her own voice...**

**The Lyons Pride continued unloading into the monster, and everything was becoming so loud that Zella feared she may go deaf. The great beast swung its mighty club, and completely annihilated one of the Lyon's Pride members, sending him flying across the circle, and crashing bluntly into the wall of the radio tower...**

**Zella jumped, now thoroughly horrified.**

**The monster advanced on Sarah Lyons, stomping over to her...**

**Zella gasped.**

**"Stay here!" She ordered Dogmeat, before darting down the stairs... she still had Lucas Simm's assault rifle, after all...**

**Zella raised the rifle, pointing at the monster, praying she'd hit it in the head, aiming as high as she could, then she held down the trigger... bullets flew into the beast's skin, though no one could tell exactly how much damage they were inflicting...**

**When the assault rifle stopped firing, Zella knew she'd emptied the clip. And just as she reached for her bag, she realized the monster was facing her now, looking morbidly disgruntled... it came towards her, shaking the ground like an earthquake with every step... Zella backed away, frantically grasping around the inside of her bag for another clip... the back of her ankle met with the bottom stair, making her trip and fall onto her back, lying helplessly on the stairs, staring directly up at the supersized super mutant...**

**There was no way, no way in hell she was escaping this... it was feet apart from her, that titanic, monumental abomination... it began to raise its club... oh God, what a way to go... _I'm gonna be squished... squished like a bug... like one of those rad roaches Butch squished with my bat... oh God... here it comes...!_**

**More shots fired off, though Zella didn't hear them... she'd already shut her eyes, preparing for the worst...**

**A moment passed by.**

**When Zella realized that she hadn't yet been crushed, she peeked upwards.**

**A large chunk of the beast's head had been blown off, and the club fell from its hands, shattering the stone fountain in the center of the circle... **

**It stumbled, hunching forward...**

**Zella scrambled to her feet, climbing up the stairs rapidly, using both her legs and arms... she didn't stop until she was pressed up against the door to the radio tower, and she looked back just in time to see the dinosaur-sized super mutant collapse on the stairs to Galaxy News Radio.**


	7. Galaxy News Radio & Reilly's Rangers

**"Well... I hate to admit it, But I owe you a thank you."**

**"For what?" Zella asked honestly, as she stood at the head of the stairs with Sarah Lyons. **

**"We couldn't have killed that thing without you. Thank you." Sarah told her, sounding as though she was beginning to choke up.**

**"I'm sorry you lost Reddin... and that other guy. I'm sorry." Zella said.**

**"No... they knew how dangerous it was... Its not like its your fault. You did everything you could to get all of us through this." Sarah replied.**

**Zella couldn't think of a response to this, so she lead the rest of the Lyon's Pride into the radio tower silently. Inside, she found her way up the stairs, and she was met by a sleek, light-skinned African American, who she didn't recognize until he spoke.**

**Three Dog, of Galaxy News Radio.**

**After speaking with him, she learned that he _had _met with her father, and Three Dog asked for her help fixing the satellite which was responsible for the broadcast of his radio show. Zella obliged, and was sent further into the city to the Washington Memorial where the signal was sent. She and Dogmeat spent the rest of the day waltzing around the city, dodging more super mutants and meeting with another Brotherhood of Steel member, guarding the Monument, until finally, the satellite was fixed, and Zella returned to the home of Three Dog around three in the morning, weathered, exhausted, and intolerant of even the faintest odd looks that any wastelanders, scavengers, and Brotherhood troops tried to give her on the way back...**

**"Tell me where my Dad is." Zella ordered the second she laid eyes on Three Dog, who was leaning over his bed, preparing to go to sleep...**

**"I see you got the signal fixed, and a quality job you did, my friend." Three Dog complimented in his usual, soothing voice. "I'll tell you whatever you need to know."**

**And indeed, he did. Zella conversed with him for another ten minutes before she decided to leave and find a place to sleep, since she was beginning to have trouble seeing straight. She'd learned that her father had headed to Rivet City, to talk to some scientists or something... she had no clue what Rivet City was, why her father needed scientists... whatever, she couldn't think properly right now... sleep... _sleep..._**

**"Hey, kid." Three Dog called after her from his bedroom when Zella was halfway through the doorway. Zella, extremely tired and annoyed, turned, giving him a face.**

**"There's a spare room on the other side of the top floor. Stay here tonight." He told her. "I can see how tired you are... If you try to go out there right now, you ain't gonna make it."**

* * *

**Sneaking through a building full of super mutants to obtain a satellite for a radio tower was the least of her worries now, and wandering around the city's ruins somewhere past the Museum of Technology, Zella, after about an hour, was forced to admit to herself that she was lost.**

**Her Pip-Boy indicated that it was three minutes until noon, and the sun was hanging in the sky in just the right position to blind her yet again. Luckily, Three Dog had given her some stylish old sunglasses, covering her blue eyes and protecting them from the rays of the sun.**

**Dogmeat whined, then tip-toed off to the side in order to drink from a puddle.**

**"Come on, don't drink that." Zella told him. "That water's full of rads."**

**Dogmeat released a sad moan, his ears drooping down, looking at his master in a somewhat pitiful way.**

**"I'm sorry... I know, I'm a terrible master... I don't even have enough water for myself, boy. We'll find a place to do some trade soon, come on." Zella patted her side, and Dogmeat rushed up to her. The two of them continued down the street, until something caught the corner of her eye.**

**Yet another subway entrance, located right in front of another museum, one that she hadn't seen before.**

**Zella approached the place, hoping to go inside the front doors, but stopped when she caught sight of a woman walking around the border of the subway, smoking, and staring off into the city, looking almost bored. She was, like Gob, someone suffering from a very slow sickness from radiation exposure... people who the wasteland referred to as ghouls.**

**"Hey, how come you're standing out here?" Zella asked her. "Aren't you afraid of the super mutants out there? They could blow your head off."**

**"Nah, they usually leave me alone." She replied in a scratchy voice, this one much lighter than any ghoul voice Zella had heard before. "You another tourist?"**

**"Tourist...?"**

**"Yeah... visiting the mall, smooth skin... looks like a tourist to me." The ghoul woman said, taking another hit, then blowing a cloud of smoke into the air.**

**Zella then headed into the mall, only to find a large empty room containing nothing but a round desk. Beyond this room was another huge room, but this one was decorated with many skeleton-like structures, the most noticeable being the giant skull head on the top of the big doors across the vacant room, taking up the entire upper part of the wall.**

**"Looks evil." Zella said. "Curiosity is gonna be what kills me, ya' know that?" She told Dogmeat, who barked, then followed her inside the peculiar doors leading to God knows where.**

**Upon entering these doors, Zella was greeted by more ghouls than she'd ever seen before, a particular greenish one standing front and center, wearing a repair man's suit. He stepped forward, eyeing Zella oddly.**

**"Well, now... look at that." Winthrop said. "We got ourselves a smoothskin visitor. Wooooeee, we haven't seen one of your kind in a long time."**

**"Where am I?" Zella asked, looking around and realizing that this section of the mall was much more bright, clean, and populated than the rest. **

**"You're in Underworld, smoothskin. Its a place for us ghouls to live in peace." Winthrop explained. "The super mutants leave us alone, and the slavers don't come this far into the city... the only worry we've got is the Brotherhood of Steel."**

**"What's your beef with them?" Zella wondered.**

**"Eh. Bastards. They can't seem to tell us apart from the super mutants. Or, maybe they just don't care. Still... bigots." Winthrop said, looking away for a moment. "But anyway, smoothskin... you're free to look around if you want. As long as you don't bother us, we won't bother you. Just... try to keep from shooting up the place. And if you need anything, let me know."**

**Zella nodded, now contemplating her position regarding the Brotherhood. They didn't seem like the most friendly group, true, but Zella supposed they were just another group who was rather "hit and miss..."**

**After wandering around the center hall for a moment, watching the protective Gutsy bot floating around, Zella decided to head up the stairs. She entered the first set of double doors she saw, only to find what looked like a very down to earth, slummy bar. Behind the counter stood a sleek looking ghoul smoking a cigarette, and wearing a tan suit... a few other ghoul customers were walking around and conversing, and one particularly tall ghoul, who seemed to be the only one wearing battle-ready armor, was standing in the corner, crossing his arms and watching everyone.**

**Zella stole a glimpse at the tall ghoul in the corner, who seemed to have a slightly red-ish tint to his peeling skin, and who had small chunks of crimson hair upon his head. His blue eyes were big and milky, similar to Gob's, only this ghoul looked a bit more disgruntled.**

**Strangely, Zella found herself a little drawn to him. Sure, any ghoul here might make for good conversation, but the ghoul in the corner appeared to be more of an introvert... like Zella herself. Perhaps he was the one in the most need of friendly conversation.**

**"Hi." Zella said to him.**

**"Talk to Ahzrukhal." He grumbled in a low, hoarse ghoul voice, staring down at her, what was left of his thin eyebrows pressed against his eyes almost angrily. It was odd, being stared down upon by someone. He was nearly a foot taller than her.****  
**

**"Yeah, but-"**

**"Talk. To. _Ahzrukhal_." He ordered again very slowly, then looked away from her.**

**Zella, feeling defeated, turned and headed over to the bar and claimed a seat, leaning on the table.**

**"Well, now... lookie here. We got ourselves a smoothskin visitor that I've never seen before." The suited ghoul behind the counter said in an almost snake-like ghoul voice, his crooked, rotting mouth seeming to simulate a corpse's smile. **

**"Are you Ahzrukhal?" Zella asked him.**

**"Why yes, I am." He replied. "And this... this is the Ninth Circle."**

**"What's the deal with that guy in the corner?" She asked him.**

**"Oh... that would be Charon. He's... let's just say that he's a very loyal employee." Ahzrukhal told her.**

**Zella didn't fully understand what this meant, but something about the way he said it made goosebumps crawl up her arms.**

**"Employee?"**

**"Yes... I am in possession of his contract." He elaborated.**

_**I see,**_** Zella thought. _A slave. _**

**"Er... if someone wanted to buy that contract off you, how much would you want for it?" Zella asked as casually as possible.**

**"Hmmm... I would have to say... no less than two thousand." Ahzrukhal said.**

**Zella's heart skipped. _Two-fucking-thousand? _**

**"You'd want two thousand for that contract?" Zella said. "Is it made of gold?"**

**Ahzrukhal laughed raspily.**

**"I like that humor... I appreciate the sarcasm... hateful humor truly makes my day, truly... but I'm afraid, I am being _completely_ serious."**

**Zella gave another moment's thought to this. She wasn't entirely sure why she wanted the contract all the sudden... perhaps because she simply didn't like the idea of anyone being "owned" like a slave, or perhaps because she was honestly tired of traveling around alone... or maybe, she figured she'd have a better chance of surviving if she had some kind of help, like a body guard...** **nevertheless, she didn't have the caps for it... nowhere near enough...**

**"I'll get back to you on that." Zella told him, just before standing and heading for the door, glancing at Charon on the way out.**

**Zella and Dogmeat wandered around Underworld for a while longer, and for some reason, Zella was unable to get Charon off her mind. It wasn't like she knew him, and it wasn't like she was at all responsible for him... but all that aside, Ahzrukhal seemed like a completely crooked individual, and the thought of anyone being a slave to such a peculiar low life was troubling to her. Not only that, but she enjoyed the idea of traveling with a human companion... well, sort of human, anyway.**

**Still, she knew very well that it was out of her reach. **

**There was just no way she could come up with the money.**

**Outside of a small door, there was a wooden sign which read; _Chop Shop. _**

**Zella stepped inside, surprised to find that it was a doctor's office.**

_**A doctor's office named the "Chop Shop." Kinda unsettling, **_**Zella thought, looking around, just before noticing a human lying on the bed nearby... a normal, smooth-skinned human.**

**Zella stepped forward, standing over her, wondering what brought this woman to a ghoul's hospital.**

**"Afraid she's gonna be out for a while." The ghoul doctor said, approaching from behind.**

**"Can you wake her up?" Zella asked. "I wanna ask her something." **

**"Sure thing. Just be easy on her... she's been through quite a lot. I'm surprised she's still alive." The doctor told her, just before placing a hand on the woman's shoulder and giving her a very gentle shake until she was conscious, staring up at the two of them.**

**Zella, feeling selfish for simply wanting to ask her for directions to Rivet City, gave a closer look to the woman, realizing that she was very badly injured and bruised. Still, she attempted to sit up in bed, ignoring her wounds.**

**"Wha... what happened? Wait... oh shit! My men!" She mumbled, looking around frantically.**

**"What's wrong?" Zella asked.**

**"Shit... shit... my men... they're trapped... I have to go get them-"**

**"You don't look like you're in any condition to go anywhere." Zella told her.**

**"That's not the way I do things." The woman said, narrowing her eyes at Zella. "I'm Reilly. Of Reilly's rangers. I have a bunch of guys who... they... oh shit... how long have I been out?"**

**"Not long, I don't think." Zella replied, glancing at the doctor.**

**"No, you haven't been out long, just a couple days." The doctor confirmed.**

**Reilly suddenly looked extremely worried.**

**"What's wrong?" Zella asked.**

**Reilly explained the situation to her, leading to how she was injured, how she ended up in Underworld, and how her men were trapped on the roof of the Statesman Hotel deeper in the city, surrounded by super mutants.**

**"Listen, I understand that I barely know you, but I really need you do do me a favor. Go get them out of there somehow, please. Go save them... find a way to escort them out of there." Reilly said. "I can barely move."**

**Zella hesitated. Well, of course she wanted to help, but she was short on supplies, and she could barely stomach shooting minor animals, let alone raiders and super mutants...**

**Then, a thought occurred to her.**

**"Does it pay?" Zella asked.**

**Reilly gave a pleading, slightly sickened face, glaring at Zella spitefully.**

**"I'm sorry, I know how that sounds." Zella added. "But I really need money. I'm barely scraping by. I'd really, _really_ love to help... I just... I'm not sure if I can without any supplies or anything."**

**"You get my men out of there, and I'll give you whatever you want." Reilly assured.**

**Zella tried to conceal her smirk.**

**She was able to sneak her way around a hoard of super mutants once before, so maybe she'd be able to do it again... not only that, but she'd be saving a handful of people from a terribly dangerous situation, and if she played her caps right, Zella would earn enough money to buy the contract from Azhrukhal, and she'd be able to talk to the mysterious red ghoul standing in the corner of the Ninth Circle.**

**"You've got yourself a deal."**


	8. Charon

**Almost 24 hours passed before Zella made any progress.**

**And, despite what she had anticipated, she found that killing the super mutants was a little easier than it used to be... and with every encounter, adrenaline running rampant and instincts kicking in, Zella found that every time, she experienced less hesitation before pulling the trigger... less regret when the bodies hit the floor... less sickness from the sight of the blood and gore...**

**Zella was surprising herself with her slowly-forming ability to maintain her sanity, ever so slightly more, with every danger, every attack, and every slaughter.**

**As if rescuing the stranded rangers from the super mutants wasn't enough, it took forever to get to the home base of the Reilly's Rangers... and as promised, Reilly paid Zella a large lump sum of caps, along with some special Ranger combat armor. It was about midnight before Zella finally returned to the Museum of History, and entered Underworld, only to find that most of the ghouls were sleeping.**

**After a long, agonizingly exhausting day, Zella headed straight for the Ninth Circle, sat at the bar, and exhaled an extensive, long-awaited sigh. Unlike the rest of Underworld, the Ninth Circle was still as busy as ever... the ghoul's night club.**

**"Well, don't you just look... miserable." Ahzrukhal said, huffing from his cigarette. "Sit down, tell uncle Ahzrukhal all about it."**

**"I'd like to talk to you about Charon's contract." Zella said formally, slipping the sunglasses off her face.**

**"Oh, is that so?" Ahzrukhal said, a rotting smirk emerging on his face. **

**"He's your slave, isn't he?" Zella asked him.**

**"Now, that's a very strong word to go throwing around, young lady. He is _not _a slave... and I can assure you... he very well earned himself that contract of his. Charon grew up with... an interesting group of individuals. They... well... I guess you could say they brainwashed him. He is absolutely loyal to whomever holds his contract. Unfailing, unflinching, until that employment ends."**

**"I'll give you a thousand caps for it." Zella told him straightly.**

**Ahzrukhal took a moment of thought.**

**Zella, although she was in possession of a considerable amount of money and supplies for trade, still didn't have the full two thousand. Still, she didn't intend to take no for an answer.**

**"Yes..." Ahzrukhal said after a moment, giving a small nod, staring into her eyes deeply. "Yes... I suppose that could work. Here you are."**

**After making the trade, Zella slipped Charon's rolled-up contract into her bag, into a small, secretive back pocket for safe keeping. She stood, then approached Charon, who was still standing in the same corner he'd been in last time she saw him.**

**The second she was within feet of him, he blinked at her.**

**"Talk to-"**

**"Hang on." Zella said, holding up one of her hands. "I've got good news, I bought your contract. You don't have to hang around here anymore."**

**Charon was silent for a moment.**

**"You... purchased my contract from Ahzrukhal." He grumbled. "Hmm... That is good to know... Please, wait here for a moment. I must take care of something. "**

**Charon marched over to the counter, then stepped behind it, facing his former employer. **

**Ahzrukhal, glancing at Charon, set down his cigarette in the ashtray beside him.**

**"That's right, Charon." He said. "Have you come to say goodbye?"**

**Charon's eyes burned into Ahzrukhal, and if Zella hadn't imagined it, he seemed to, if only for a split second, ignite with a random burst of silent, overwhelming, angry passion from out of nowhere...**

**"Yes." Charon replied.**

**Then, he whipped out his shotgun, stuck the barrel into Ahzrukhal's stomach-**

_**BOOOOOM.**_

**Ahzrukhal exploded into a bloody mess of bones and tissue, almost every crevice of the area behind the counter now splattered with organs and gore.**

**Everyone in the Ninth Circle froze, looking flabbergasted, the only sound being Galaxy News Radio and the voice of Three Dog ringing in the background.**

**Charon released a huge breath, staring at the remains of Ahzrukhal for a moment, then he put away his shotgun, turning to Zella.**

**"Alright, lets go." He said.**

**"Wh-what the fuck was that?!" Zella gasped, her legs beginning to feel like jelly as she stared at Charon, shocked, and trying not to look at the bloody mess on the ground.**

**"Ahzrukhal was an evil bastard." Charon told her. "So long as he held my contract, I was honor bound to do as he commanded. But now... you are my employer, which freed me to rid the world of that disgusting rat. And now... for good or ill, I serve you."**

**Zella gulped, then nodded, attempting to hide her surprise.**

**"Alright." She muttered a moment later. "L-let's go."**

**On their way out, Zella was able to hear some of the ghouls gossiping as they huddled around Ahzrukhal's body...**

** "Oh my God, he shot Ahzrukhal..." **

**"About time someone did that."**

**"What happened?"**

**"Charon was unhappy in his employment with Ahzrukhal."**

**"Can you really blame him...?"**

**"I thought Charon _liked _Ahzrukhal..."**

**Although Zella had planned on sitting in the Ninth Circle, ordering drinks, and getting to know Charon a little better, her mind quickly changed after Charon's farewell chat with Ahzrukhal. So, instead, the two of them, along with Dogmeat, headed into the center of Underworld.**

**Zella sat on an empty bench, resting for a moment, staring up at Charon, who did not sit with her. He merely stood there, blank faced, awaiting her next move.**

**"You don't wanna sit down?" Zella asked him.**

**"I will do whatever you ask of me." Charon replied. "If you so wish."**

**He still didn't move.**

**"You don't need permission to sit down, okay?" Zella told him. "I'm not the same as Ahzrukhal... I want you to do whatever makes you comfortable."**

**Charon stood still for another moment, still wearing a vacant expression. Then, he sat down about a foot away from Zella, staring at one of the Underworld statues.**

**"So." Zella said, grabbing her satchel and flipping it open. "Wanna tell me about yourself?"**

**Charon looked at her.**

**Zella pulled out two bottles. A bottle of wine, and a bottle of scotch. She then began trying to pull the cork out of the wine bottle using only her fingers.**

**"I do not have a preference." Charon said. "If you wish me to tell you about myself, then I will."**

**"Its up to you." Zella told him.**

**Charon remained quiet.**

**Zella, still struggling to remove the cork, looked his way for a moment.**

**"I usually hate alcohol." She said. "Vodka and whiskey make me sicker than hell. I'm gonna mix some scotch with some wine... to make it bearable. Just for the sake of getting some sleep. I've had a hectic day."**

**"I have... always been under contract." Charon said a few moments later. "And I've always served under my employers. There is nothing much to tell about myself, Mistress."**

**Zella nodded, her attention now focused on the wine bottle, as she was still unable to remove the cork. Growing frustrated, she stopped fiddling with it, sighing and looking annoyed.**

**Charon took the bottle from her, then slipped out a combat knife from the sheathe on his side. He poked the cork with the tip of the blade, then began to pry it out of the bottle.**

**The cork shot out of the wine bottle about three feet into the air, making a small, solid little _pop, _then hitting the floor beside their feet. Then, he handed the bottle back to Zella, still staring off.**

**"Thanks!" Zella said, taking a single, large swig of the wine. **

**Charon said nothing.**

**"Is there anywhere we can sleep here?" Zella asked him. "I really, _really_ need a nap. Can we rent a hotel room or something?"**

**"Carol's place." Charon responded. "Its a hotel upstairs."**

**"Awesome." Zella said, taking another large gulp of wine. "I have more than enough caps now... I can finally sleep in a bed. How much do the rooms cost with two beds?"**

**Charon gave her an odd face.**

**"You do not require two beds, Mistress." He said.**

**Zella stared at him.**

**"I'm not gonna make you sleep on the floor." She retorted.**

**"I do not require sleep." Charon informed her.**

**"What?" Zella asked, awestricken. "You don't sleep? I thought... I thought ghouls had to sleep, just like... y'know... ordinary people."**

**"Some do." Charon said. "Most do, actually. But I do not."**

**"Why not?"**

**"Because my early employers instructed me to be available at all times, and to be alert and watchful while they slept... and Ahzrukhal required me to stay awake through the nights in order to maintain order in the Ninth Circle." Charon explained to her. "I have been trained not to rely on sleep."**

**"Don't you ever get tired?" Zella asked, trying to imagine what it must be like to be awake around the clock, every day and night. The thought of it befuddled her.**

**"Somewhat." Charon admitted. "Ahzrukhal supplied me with chems during the nights."**

**Zella glared at him, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.**

**"Are you on _jet_?" She asked in a hushed tone, even though there was no one around to overhear.**

**"Everyone in the Ninth Circle is jetting. It is... commonplace." Charon said, still looking away. "And... it was needed, in order for me to to maintain my position."**

**"How often do you use it?" Zella wondered.**

**"Whenever it is available." Charon answered simply.**

**"Well... that's gotta stop." Zella said, screwing the lid off the scotch bottle.**

**As though an alarm had gone off inside of his head, Charon turned, staring at her, his crooked mouth hanging the slightest bit agape.**

**"I-I'll wean you off of it, okay?" She added, noticing his change of expression. "I won't just make you quit cold turkey. But... Jesus, man... that shit is gonna kill you if you keep taking it all the time."**

**Charon, deciding not to respond, looked at the statue again, leaning his back against the bench, and resting his head against the wall behind him.**

**Zella began pouring small amounts of scotch into the wine bottle, then placed her hand over it and shook it, mixing them together. Then, she handed the bottle to Charon, who stared at it strangely.**

**"I want you to sleep tonight." She said. "Just try to, at least. Four or five hours if you want... not all night, if you don't want to. Take a little sip, it'll help to calm your nerves."**

**"If you insist." Charon said, then grasped the bottle and took three big swigs.  
**

**He handed the bottle to Zella, who took a few more swigs without even wiping the mouth of the bottle.**

**After another minute or two, during which Zella was pouring more scotch into the wine bottle, shaking it, and drinking it, Charon looked over, surprised to see that Zella had downed the entire bottle already.**

**"I thought you did not like alcohol." He said, examining the empty bottle in her hands.**

**"I usually don't." Zella said, stifling a burp. "But... shit, that wine tasted amazing. It really made the scotch drinkable. Nukas are still my favorite, though... heh... Oh God, I wonder what Nukas would taste like with scotch... probably gross..."**

**Zella allowed Dogmeat to lick the mouth of the bottle, then she stood, placed her bag over her shoulder, and gave a long, comforting stretch, moaning a little as she did.**

**The stretching seemed to give her a head rush, her vision blurring, making her go a bit light headed... her balance swayed, and she stumbled sideways, then shook herself awake, stabilizing and standing upright.**

**"Christ, I'm tired." She yawned. "Let's go upstairs."**

**Charon and Dogmeat followed her up the stairs, and into Carol's place. Zella didn't expect to see her awake, but there she was, standing behind the counter, leaning on it, reading an old magazine, and looking bored.**

**"Oh... hello." Carol said, standing upright. "I didn't expect any customers this late... and a human, no less."**

**"Hi, can we get a room with two beds, please?" Zella asked kindly.**

**"Well, of course, sweetheart. That will be a hundred caps." Carol responded. "The price for two beds is usually a hundred and fifty... but we don't get a lot of picky customers... and you seem like a sweet thing. You're very polite, considering how most smoothskins speak to us. I'd rather you keep a few extra caps for the road, since you seem to be living on the move."**

**"Thanks a lot!" Zella said to her, smiling.**

**"Not a problem, sweety. Oh yes... and also... do you think you could do me a favor Next time you leave Underworld?" Carol asked.**

**"Sure." Zella said.**

**"If you ever come across a ghoul named Gob, can you tell him his mother misses him and loves him very much... and that I dearly hope that he's found happiness. Oh... and tell him not to come home. Everything's gotten far too dangerous... I'm afraid he'd get hurt if he tried to come back into the city..." Carol said.**

**"Gob?" Zella said, suddenly feeling exhilarated. "You're Gob's _mother?" _**

**"Why, yes." Carol said. "Well... I mean, not by blood, exactly. We... don't exactly work that way. Do you know him? You've seen my Gob out there? Is he alright? How is he doing?"**

**"He's doing great!" Zella told her, silently confirming to herself that Gob's life had improved since the death of Moriarty. "He's running a Saloon in Megaton."**

**"Oh... that's wonderful news!" Carol said. "Oh... thank goodness. Thank goodness he's doing alright for himself. I was worried he'd only find trouble out there..."**

**Zella, deciding not to tell Carol about Gob's misfortune of being under Moriarty's employment, nodded happily in agreement.**

**After a little more conversation with Carol, Zella, Charon, and Dogmeat departed into the closest hotel room containing two beds. **

**Dogmeat curled up into a ball on the floor, and fell asleep almost instantly.**

**"Get some sleep, okay?" Zella told Charon, just before flopping onto the bed. The comfort of the cushions lulled her into a deep slumber within minutes, leaving Charon lying on his bed alone, staring at the ceiling for nearly an hour before he felt even the slightest bit drowsy.**


	9. The Tests of Friendship

**It was nearly five in the afternoon before they found the exit to the subway, and now, Zella, Charon, and Dogmeat were standing across from a gigantic boat, on top of a huge, metal platform.**

**"That boat is supposed to be Rivet City?" Zella said aloud, drawing closer.**

**"Please help me." A voice came from her side.**

**Zella looked over to see a very sickly man sitting on the side of the metal platform.**

**"Please... I need water, please." He said weakly.**

**"Any kind of water?" Zella asked, rifling though her satchel.**

**"I... I've been drinking the dirty stuff for so long... I can't do it anymore." The man said. "Please... if you have any purified water... please..."**

**"I... I don't have any." Zella said, feeling guilty. **

**"Please... if you find some... please..." He begged.**

**Zella nodded, then approached the edge of the platform, staring at the boat.**

**"How the hell are we supposed to get over there?" She said.**

**Charon looked to his left, noticing a small, white intercom on the pole beside him. He pressed the button, and a loud, staticy voice spoke through the speaker.**

**"Just stand clear while we extend the bridge." It said.**

**A long, metal bridge came towards them, suspended by huge, black wires. Soon, it connected with the floor of the platform, giving them a walkway to Rivet City.**

**The three of them walked along the bridge, until they were stopped by a security guard wearing black armor.**

**"Hold it right there." Harkness said. "What's your business in Rivet City?"**

**"I'm looking for my dad, he came here to talk to Doctor Li in the science lab." Zella said.**

**"Alright, just don't start any trouble."**

**Zella, after discovering the Rivet City market place, almost completely forgot why she'd come to Rivet City. Distracted by Gary's cuisine, a new outfit she'd purchased from Patomic Attire, and the vast variety of chems available at A Quick Fix, Zella was sitting happily at Gary's Galley, slowly and savoring her cuisine, feeding bits of it to Dogmeat, and downing two Nukas in a row. **

**Zella was now wearing what looked like some kind of raider badlands outfit, a suitable outfit for a wastelander (it was the least revealing out of all the raider-type outfits, so she stuck with it, now that her duster was torn all to hell). She bought a brand new set of combat armor for Charon, who was sitting beside her, wearing his new outfit, and picking at his own cuisine, looking entirely unmoved.**

**"Want a Nuka?" Zella asked him, still attempting to swallow a mouth full of seasoned peppers.**

**"If you wish, Mistress." Charon replied, eating a small bite of his food. "If I may speak freely for a moment, Mistress..."**

**"Of course, you don't have to ask." Zella told him, still lost in her delicious food.**

**"Do you believe its wise to be spending money so quickly?" He asked.**

**Zella nodded, then pulled out a small, round-ish device from her satchel and placed it beside her plate.**

**"Guess what this is?" She said, gesturing to the device.**

**Charon stared at it.**

**"Its a mini-nuke." Zella told him. "Its worth about three hundred caps. And I sold most of the stuff Reilly gave me... I've got plenty of caps right now. This is the first time I've been able to afford anything decent since I've been out here. I'm gonna enjoy it, and so are you."**

**"Yes, Mistress."**

**They were quiet for another moment.**

**After cleaning her plate, Zella looked at Charon, who was sitting still, his arms crossed, his food barely touched.**

**"Charon." She said. "Your hands are shaking."**

**His skin-shedding fingers, wrapped around his arms, were giving a slight tremble.**

**"Withdrawals, Mistress." Charon said, staring down.**

**Zella watched him, feeling a little torn. She didn't want to keep him addicted to chems... but apparently, he was using them so heavily that they were now causing his body to withdrawal.**

**"I'll get you some." She said. "But only one. Just one a day, and then we'll try one every other day... and I'm gonna get you off the stuff, alright?"**

**"As you command." Charon agreed, still looking down, fighting his shakes.**

**Zella patted him on the back, then stood and made her way back to A Quick Fix. She exchanged her mini-nuke for all of the remaining stimpacks and jet that they had in stock, and somehow squished them all into her satchel.**

**When she returned to her seat, she handed Charon a needle of jet.**

**Charon stuck the needle into his arm, then exhaled heavily, letting his eyes slip shut.**

**Zella felt troubled watching him do this, but nevertheless, they finished their dinner, wandered around the Rivet City halls for a while, and instead of finding the science lab, they found what appeared to be a room of things from over a century ago.**

**"Hello there!" A man said, appearing from a doorway across from there. "Having a look around?"**

**"What is this place?" Zella asked. "Where's the science lab?"**

**"This is the Capitol Preservation Society." He said. "And you're speaking to the owner and manager of it. Abraham Washington. That's me."**

**Zella went quiet for a moment, scanning over all the old things in the room, then looking upwards at a replica plane suspended from the ceiling.**

**"From the look of you... a guard dog, and a hired bodyguard... I'd have to say you're used to traveling the wastes, right?" He asked.**

**"Maybe." Zella said.**

**"I've got a job for someone like you. You look like you could get it done." Abraham told her. "I'd like you to uncover the Declaration of Independence. I'll pay you monumentally, of course!"**

**"Whoa, hang on... I was just looking for the science lab." Zella said, stepping back.**

**"Three hundred caps." Abraham said.**

**Zella blinked.**

**"Five hundred?" Abraham offered.**

**"Alright, fine, I'll do it... if you tell me where the science lab is."**

**And so, after looping around the halls for a while longer (Zella grew quite annoyed walking around Rivet City, as she was convinced everything looked exactly the same, even though she was paying no attention to the signs on the wall despite Charon's suggestions), they finally reached the science lab. Doctor Li then explained her father's intentions, why he was out of the vault, what projects he was working on, and she divulged to Zella that her father had gone to the Jefferson Memorial.**

**On their way over the Rivet City bridge, Zella stuck a full clip into her assault rifle, preparing to arm herself against any danger that may be at the Memorial. **

**They made their way down the broken road, towards the Memorial.**

**"Project Purity..." Zella uttered. "God damn... no wonder he left the vault."**

**As they approached, the three of them were soon faced with super mutants. Zella, Charon, and Dogmeat exterminated the super mutants without a problem, then entered the building.**

**After killing all the super mutants from a distance, careful not to allow anyone to get injured, they all reached the purifier room, where they were forced to unload into a couple of super mutant brutes, who all hit the ground in a pool of their own blood.**

**Zella found a few misplaced holotapes. She forced them into her Pip-Boy, then listened to the voice of her father monologue his plans. After the tapes finished playing, she stood there for a moment, silent, blank, and still.**

**"What is the matter, Mistress?" Charon asked.**

**Zella took a moment, then turned, facing her companions.**

**"We have to find Vault 112." She said. "And I have no idea where that is."**

* * *

**The wasteland was as empty and bleak as ever.**

**Now, the three of them were wandering west blindly, and Zella was now completely winging it, hoping to catch a lead to Vault 112 where her father had gone to research more for Project Purity. The sun had set about an hour ago, and luckily, out in the middle of nowhere, Zella stumbled across an abandoned raider camp.**

**They started a fire using a little of Zella's scotch, and now they were sitting around it, warming themselves with the flames under the foggy night sky.**

**"You feeling any better?" Zella asked Charon after a while.**

**"You needn't concern yourself with my well being." Charon said.**

**"Well... I do." Zella said honestly. "Hey... I have an idea. We should go back to Megaton. We're close by it now... and I have no idea where I'm going. I don't wanna lead us all into our deaths. Someone in Megaton should be able to give me directions... and I'll be able to take a break."**

**"If you wish, Mistress." Charon said.**

**"Charon." Zella said, staring at him from across the fire.**

**"Yes."**

**"You don't have to call me that." Zella told him. "Call me by my name."**

**"It states in my contract that I am to address my contract owner as my superior." Charon responded.**

**"You don't have to do everything that contract tells you." Zella said. "I can tell you hate following orders. I can see it in your face. You fucking hate it, don't you?"**

**Charon was silent.**

**"I grew up in a vault, people telling me what to do all the time. We were expected to pretty much worship the Overseer... but I fought with the guy a lot. I fought with the teachers all the time... I fought with everyone, because that damn place was full of brainwash. I couldn't stand people spewing their indoctrinating shit at me. You and I are kind of alike." Zella informed.**

**Charon looked away, shaking his head.**

**"What're you thinking?" Zella asked, noticing his face.**

**"I'm not... permitted to speak my opinions." Charon said, not meeting her eyes.**

**"I just asked you for your opinion, that permits you to say it." Zella said. "The hell with your contract. I just bought it because I didn't want anyone living to serve a scumbag like Ahzrukhal. I didn't want to be your employer... I wanted us to be more like a team. I have trouble shooting enemies sometimes... but you really help me out with that. And in return... I buy you food, armor, whatever you need. Its a partnership... we're equals."**

**Charon still didn't say anything.**

**"Tell me what you're thinking." Zella said.**

**"I've never been an equal to anyone." Charon said after an eternity of thought.**

**"Why not?" Zella asked, remembering something Ahzrukhal said. _Charon was raised by an interesting group of individuals... I guess you could say they brainwashed him... _**

**A rapid series of unpleasant memories flashed through his mind as Charon stared heavily into the fire, his expression now looking positively intense, his eyes shining with the flickering of the flames.**

**Zella observed him.**

**"I just haven't." Charon finally said, sounding agitated.**

**"I know you've got a mind of your own." Zella said to him. "You blew Ahzrukhal to pieces... you fucking destroyed him. You wouldn't have done that if you didn't have some sense of right and wrong. You're a human being. I hope ya' know that."**

**"Whatever you say." Charon said, now wishing the conversation would end, as it was now reawakening some unwanted flashbacks of his.**

**Soon after, they drifted to sleep. All of them awoke to a late morning, and then, Zella lead her companions back to Megaton. When they approached the gigantic gates of the town, Zella was suddenly overcome with an odd, tingling sensation... it felt as though she'd never been in the vault... like she didn't grow up in the vault, like she never had any friends there, like she'd always lived in the outside world... and marching into the gates of Megaton, she was finally returning home.**


	10. Heart Freezing Over

**Zella had planned on heading straight to the Saloon to visit Gob, the first friend she'd made after leaving the vault. She'd been gone a little over a week now, although it seemed more like years...**

**But her plans seemed to become a bit less cheerful she she laid eyes on the Saloon.**

**Standing in the center of the town beside the bomb, Zella, Charon, and Dogmeat all stood side by side, staring up at the balcony in front of the Saloon. The Saloon was surrounded by a crowd of people, nearly all the Megaton settlers, and there seemed to be a lot of shouting and cursing coming from them...**

**"Jesus..." Zella muttered to herself, just before jogging up the metal ramp, her companions following suit. Once they reached the Saloon, Zella had a hard time forcing her way through the crowd in order to reach the open Saloon doors.**

**Just as she was about to enter the Saloon, a hardened, disgruntled looking man shoved her out of his path, nearly knocking her to the ground. Though Zella only got a glance at him, he appeared to be battered and bleeding, his nose bent at a crooked angle, broken and spewing blood. **

**The man continued through the crowd, hollering and screaming every insult known to man at the top of his lungs, and pushing others out of his way as he did.**

**"Keep your fuckin' hands off me!" Zella screamed after him, though he didn't seem to hear.**

**Zella broke through the crowd, Charon and Dogmeat close behind. Inside, surprisingly, there were no people, other than Nova, standing in the corner and looking completely shocked. The glasses and dishes, which were usually sitting neatly on the counter, had been thrown all over the place, a few of them shattered into pieces.**

**Once approaching the counter, Zella spotted Gob sitting behind it, back against the wall, knees pressed against his chest, covering his face with one of his decaying hands. His dirty old gray t-shirt now had many rips and holes in it, and if Zella wasn't mistaken, was also covered in spots of blood...**

**"What the hell happened?" Zella said, stepping behind the counter and kneeling in front of Gob, who looked up instantly at the sound of her voice.**

**"Oh... kid..." He stuttered, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.**

**"Fucking hell... what happened?" Zella asked again, placing a hand on Gob's shoulder, looking extremely bewildered and concerned.**

**"Its no big deal.." He said.**

**"Looks like a big deal. Tell me what happened!" Zella demanded.**

**"Guy comes in... he's a regular here... name's Jericho." Gob said. "He was a pretty loyal customer to Moriarty... two of them had a lot of business together... he came in, ordered some food... then he refused to pay me for it... told me, _you don't pay zombies to work, they should just DO it, _or something... I, er... I told him he wasn't allowed to rip me off me like that. So... eh... he hit me. And... I hit him... I don't remember..."**

**Zella continued to gaze into Gob, looking profoundly stricken with a bizarre, overwhelmingly monstrous bombardment of emotions.**

**Everything seemed to be playing like a movie now... Zella hardly felt the aches and pains that had been bothering her earlier in the morning... and oddly, minutes seemed to be flying by like seconds... Zella wasn't sure when exactly she stood up and stormed out of the Saloon, leaving Gob and Dogmeat alone... Charon following her closely, trying to keep up... she didn't remember rushing down the metal ramp, zeroing in on the battle damaged Jericho, who was just walking past the bomb, on his way to his home, still murmuring to himself angrily... the sound of his voice seemed to make Zella's heart bash rapidly against her ribs, her blood hot, her sight now blurring red...**

**"Hey ASSHOLE!" Zella bellowed, halting Jericho to a stop just feet away.**

**"The fuck do you want?" Jericho snapped.**

**"You like stealing shit? Starting fights?" Zella yelled.**

**"Who the fuck do you think you are, eh?" Jericho snarled. "You think you're gonna teach me a lesson you stupid bitch? Bring it, then."**

**At that, Jericho reached for his holster-**

**BANG. BANG.**

**Charon and Zella seemed to react the exact same way, at the exact same time, in the exact same manner-both flipping out their combat shotguns, both unloading a couple of 12 gauge rounds into Jericho until he erupted in a bloody volcano of organs and blood.**

**The Megaton settlers, who were all still standing around the Saloon above, were now staring down at them, all alerted by the ear-splitting gunshots ringing throughout Megaton.**

**Zella and Charon stood over the lifeless Jericho silently for a moment.**

**Then, Zella marched back up the metal ramp towards the Saloon, and Charon, watching her, was almost surprised at how natural her cold, stony expression had become. **

* * *

**"Are you alright?" Zella asked about an hour later, while she, Gob, Charon, and Dogmeat were all hiding away in her home.**

**Gob, sitting at her table, was holding a rag Zella had given him over his still bleeding mouth.**

**"M'alright, don't worry about me, kiddo." Gob told her.**

**Zella, who was wrapping a gauze wrap around Gob's sprained wrist, said nothing.**

**Gob peeked at her, his face wearing an incredibly soft, unreadable expression.**

**All his life, he'd never come across a smoothskin that would do so much as speak civilly with him... and now, here _she _was, fretting over his injuries, and personally tending to his wounds...**

**"There we go." Zella said after wrapping Gob's wrist up tight. "Don't move it too much. And, uh... if you need any painkillers, tell Wadsworth. He knows where everything is in my personal infirmary. I... I'm gonna go lay down, guys. I need to take a nap..."**

**Her two ghoul friends watched her go up the stairs until she was out of sight.**

**Charon, sighing, slowly took a seat across from Gob, massaging his temples, looking stressed.**

**"You a friend of hers?" Gob asked.**

**"She holds my contract." Charon told him, his eyes still closed, hoping that he could rub his migraine away. "She purchased my contract from my previous employer. She is my employer now."**

**"Employer?" Gob said, smirking and releasing a single, breathless laugh. "I don't think so..."**

**Charon eyed him.**

**Gob, noticing this, went on.**

**"She don't think of things like that." He said. **

**When Charon was still quiet, Gob spoke again.**

**"Nicest thing I've ever come across in the wasteland... that girl." Gob said softly, looking down, now seeming to be speaking to himself as well. "Called me her friend. No one's ever... called me their friend before..."**

**Gob wiped a bit of the blood off his mouth.**

**"You know something... when she first came into town, something big went down that day too... few people got killed. And she watched it happen. She shot one of 'em out of fear... scared the living hell out of her. She was shaking, crying.. almost couldn't handle it. But now... she just hunted Jericho down and killed him... no remorse at all. The wasteland... its changing that kid..." Gob told Charon. "You oughta' keep an eye on her."**

**"She's the holder of my contract." Charon said. "Nothing more."**

**Gob, still looking unconvinced, leaned in, his smirk just a bit more prominent... **

**"You haven't been with her for very _long_, have you?"**


	11. Travels & Trials

**Zella spent the next couple of days helping Gob keep the Saloon business going, as it was a bit more difficult for him to do the work alone with only one working wrist. Gob insisted he could do it himself, but after the third broken glass, Zella insisted otherwise. Charon stood in the corner of the place, looking bored as ever, reminded of his post at the Ninth Circle.**

**After Gob was able to move his wrist in a circular motion, Zella, Charon, and Dogmeat decided to leave Megaton. Gob was able to point them in the general direction of Vault 112, but he didn't know its exact location. Still, Zella was confident that she'd come across it sooner or later.**

**"You take care of her, or I'll beat your ass." Gob told Charon on the day they left Megaton, pointing his finger at Charon in a direct, half-friendly way.**

**Zella remembered this moment. **

**Zella and Charon had both stopped in their tracks, both of them staring at Gob, completely dumbfounded. It was the last thing they'd expected Gob to say to anyone, especially the hardcore, six foot tall, take-no-prisoners Charon. Zella was barely able to believe those words had come out of Gob's mouth.**

**A week passed by.**

**A week full of climbing ruined bridges out of sheer curiosity, even though Charon warned her not to do anything "dangerous or stupid" (she didn't listen, of course). A week of petting radscorpions, only to find out that they aren't the friendliest creatures. And, a week full of exterminating any unlucky raider groups who happened across the trio of misfits; Zella, the curious and passionate wanderer, Charon, the crack-shot bodyguard, and Dogmeat, the most ferocious and loyal war dog in the world, and yet, the sweetest creature the wasteland had to offer.**

**As they settled in a campsite (once inhabited by raiders, but recently vacated), Zella sat on one of the old dirty mattresses, staring at the ruins of DC, watching the sun set beyond it. The sun was barely visible through the thick nuclear cloud that was constantly hovering above the Capitol Wasteland.**

**Charon was cooking some brahman meat over the fire, and Dogmeat was running around in the dirt, chasing his own tail in order to keep himself amused.**

**Zella heard a small, muffed, raspy groan come from Charon. When she turned around, he was staring into the fire, wearing a particularly sour expression.**

**"What's wrong?" Zella asked, approaching him.**

**"Nothing." He grumbled.**

**Zella sat beside him.**

**"Liar." She said bluntly.**

**Then, Zella squinted at Charon's hand, the hand which was holding a stick with a large chunk of brahman meat on it, roasting in the flames. His hand didn't seem to be keeping a steady hold of the stick... **

**"You're shaking again." Zella told him.**

**"Haven't had my fix today, Mistress." Charon said, glaring into the fire almost angrily.**

**"I'm not gonna give it to you every day anymore. I'm gonna give it to you every other day." Zella informed him. "I'm sorry... I know its hard... I just want to... fix you up. Y'know?"**

**Charon said nothing, gritting his teeth. The expression on his face seemed to be giving Zella a strong message... if he were to respond, he'd probably say something out of line, so he was keeping his mouth shut.**

**"Want a drink?" Zella offered, hoping to stray away from the subject at hand. "I've still got some scotch, and some wine... if you wanna get some sleep tonight."**

**"If you so wish." Charon mumbled.**

**"I'm trying to help you." Zella said. "I know... you probably hate me right now... and I don't blame you. But... this is the only way we're gonna fix the problem. I'm really sorry."**

**Charon made a low, growling noise.**

**"Drinks!" Zella said, pulling out a couple of bottles from her bag. She began to mix the wine and scotch again, then took a few swigs. She then handed the bottle to Charon, who took three long, enormous gulps.**

**"Take as much as you want." Zella said to him. "You can have the rest, if you want."**

**"If you insist." Charon said, then turned the bottle upside down, allowing the alcohol to drain into his mouth almost all at once. He cast the empty bottle aside, then began glaring into the fire again, watching the brahman meat as it roasted.**

**To Zella's surprise, after eating his segment of the Brahman Steak, Charon laid on one of the mattresses and fell asleep in two minutes flat. Dogmeat, after tiring himself out, did the same, and Zella, after taking a look at the sleeping Charon and smiling, drifted to sleep shortly after.**

**It didn't take long for camping, shooting, and traveling to become all-the-norm.**

**And now, Zella was quite used to it.**

**The wasteland was her home.**


	12. Night Terrors

_**Shock was a hell of a cure... **_

_**Charon hated those seven words.. as many times as he'd heard it, as many times as the words slipped between the lips of his over seers, those above him, those who ruled him... it made his irradiating stomach turn...**_

_**Shock was a hell of a cure.**_

_**It began with a simple act of defiance.**_

_**Not a big defiance, mind you... a simple, ordinary action, one understandable for him, his situation... after all, he'd been suffering from radiation poisoning for almost ten years now... and only a couple years ago, he noticed that his skin was cracking, rotting, and peeling off... every day, he was looking worse and worse... feeling sicker and sicker... and still, these ruthless over seers of his still expected a hellish amount of work out of him on a more-than-regular basis...**_

_**It was feeding time for the slaves, and as usual, Charon kept his head down. He'd previously experienced some unwanted attention from the slavers if he ever mistakenly looked them in the eyes, because apparently, he always wore an angry or disrespectful expression that the slavers didn't take very kindly to. And now, all the slaves were lining up in the kitchen, as usual... all of them were permitted one meal a day, and they received the leftovers from the slavers' meals.**_

_**You didn't look up, and you didn't ask for things... you walked inside, kept your head down, accepted whatever they handed you, and walked out, escorted back to your cage with some kind of food in your hands. You'd be a fool to do anything otherwise.**_

_** The slaves were also given a bottle of dirty water each day, but today, Charon could no longer stand it.**_

_**Just the sight of the bottles of dirty water made him nauseated. The radiation was eating at him worse than it ever had before... and every morning, he felt as though he could barely move. Every second of every day, his stomach was boiling with disgust, his head pulsating with pain... He wasn't sure how he found the energy to do the work that the slavers demanded of him... probably the motivation of the collar...**_

_**Shock was a hell of a cure.**_

_**When one of the slavers handed him his dirty water, Charon glanced behind the counter, eyeing the bottles of purified water, which were reserved only for the slavers. When the slaver looked away, Charon glimpsed around, making sure no one was looking...**_

_**He wrapped one of his hands around one of the purified waters, then swiftly hid it in the wrinkly portion of his slave rags, held together by a very old leather belt. He couldn't drink the dirty stuff anymore... once... just once, he wanted something healthy... something without rads...**_

_**After receiving his food, he was nearly out the door... he'd almost gotten away...**_

_**WHAM.**_

_**Something very solid met with the back of his head, knocking him to the ground, and sending his food flying across the room...**_

_**"You think you're fucking clever, you piece of shit?" A slaver said, standing over him.**_

_**Charon, his eyes now unfixed, lie disoriented on the ground, his head now throbbing madly... **_

_**The slaver delivered some horribly hard kicks to Charon, one of them landing in his jaw, one of them knocking the breath out of him entirely... he continued to thrash upon Charon for a good minute or so, before...**_

_**"Someone give me his remote." The slaver said, making Charon gasp.**_

_**"No-please-!" Charon tried to sputter.**_

_**A couple of slavers grinned devilishly.**_

_**"You pieces of shit get too defiant. Thinking you own shit, thinking you got a right to whatever damn food you want, clean water... look at you. You're already a fucking zombie, what's purified water gonna do for you anyway? You defiant, ignorant piece of shit. I got the cure for your bullshit right here." One of them said, holding up a small remote device, something Charon feared more than death itself. "Shock is a hell of a cure."**_

_**It was unbearable; thousands of volts were sent directly into his neck, sending his body into convulsions... the pain was excruciating... unfathomable... it just wouldn't stop... stop... God, make it stop... get it off me... GET THE COLLAR OFF ME...!**_

**"Hey!" A voice broke through the horrendous nightmare.**

**Charon's eyes snapped open, his heart hammering, his hand wrapped around his neck, fingers digging into his skin. For some reason, he seemed to be out of breath...**

**He sat bolt upright, looking in every direction... it took him a moment to realize that he was no longer in the encampment... but out in the wasteland, the sun barely beginning to rise... that's right... with his employer... no slavers...**

**"Are you alright?" Zella asked, sitting beside him, looking worried.**

**"Yes." Charon said, still running his hand over his neck. _No collar. _**

**"Did you have a nightmare?" Zella asked him, grasping his arm. **

**Charon jumped when she took hold of his arm.**

**Zella, noticing, examined him closely.**

**"Tell me what's wrong." She said.**

**Charon glared at her, looking genuinely lost for a moment.**

**"The... the jet." He said. "That... that's not the reason I can't sleep."**

**"Then what is it?" Zella asked in a light, gentle tone.**

**"The jet kept me awake... because... of the night terrors." Charon said very slowly, so quietly that she could barely hear him. It almost sounded like it was a painful thing for him to admit, making Zella stare at him with the utmost of empathy.**

**"I prefer not to sleep." Charon said, reaching his feet.**

**Zella stood as well, still watching him.**

**"But you've been doing so good lately... I want you to be able to sleep." Zella said. "Maybe I can help you get rid of the nightmares somehow."**

**Charon looked away, saying nothing.**

**"Its the withdrawals." Zella said a moment later. "The extra anxiety is giving you nightmares..."**

**"I have always had night terrors." Charon said.**

**"They'll go away once the jet's out of your system. I'm sure." Zella responded.**

**"It is not your problem." Charon said, meeting her gaze again. "Don't concern yourself with me and my problems."**

**Zella stared at him open-mouthed for a split second.**

**"Shut up." She responded. "I'll worry about you if I want to."**

**They kept glaring at one another for a moment.**

**"I told you, I consider you an equal." Zella said. "And a friend."**

**Charon remained silent.**

**Following this silence, the both of them decided to drop the conversation... and after eating a quiet breakfast, they began traveling the wastes once more, without saying a single word to one another as they did.**


	13. Andale

**After traveling throughout the entire day, Zella was relieved when they finally came across a town.**

**"Thank GOD!" Zella gasped, stepping onto the street, giving a long hard look to the few houses ahead. She lead her companions onward, towards the homes. And, oddly, this little town looked a bit nicer than most of the civilized places Zella had discovered... it looked almost normal.**

**Zella wanted to speak to Charon, to turn around and make some sort of conversation with him... but, since his nightmare, they hadn't spoken at all. So, instead, Zella decided to keep quiet. After all, he probably didn't want to talk to her. He intended to bottle up his problems, to keep to himself completely... and hell, if he didn't want the help, there was nothing she could do...**

**Checking her Pip-Boy, Zella realized that it was six in the evening. They'd been traveling all day long, and after their morning meal, none of them had eaten anything...**

**Her empty stomach became even more annoying when the scent of fresh, sizzling meat met her nostrils... there was a small cloud of smoke coming from one of the houses, and it smelled absolutely delicious...**

**When they got closer, Zella realized that a man was standing in front of a house, flipping burgers on a grill, creating a smoke cloud of appetizing delight.**

**"Hello there!" The man said cheerfully, waving to them.**

**"Hi." Zella said, returning the smile politely. "What is this place?"**

**"Why, this is Andale, stranger. The best town in Virginia. Best place to live in the wasteland." The man said, flipping another burger. "Would you care for some burgers, young lady?"**

**"Sure!" Zella said a little too quickly. "God, they smell amazing!" **

**She took a big whiff of the smoke.**

**Charon, on the other hand, didn't seem to care for the smell of the burgers. He simply stood there, staring at the burgers, looking unmoved.**

**"You want some, Charon?" Zella asked, turning to him.**

**"No." He replied flatly.**

**Zella's smile faded. **

**"You haven't eaten almost all day, aren't you hungry?" Zella asked. "Come on, he's offering them to us... we're not being impolite or anything. You should eat something."**

**"No. _Thank you_." Charon told her straightly.**

**Zella stared at him, then turned away, biting the inside of her lip, poking out her jaw. _So... he's still pissed off at me, huh. Figures. Whatever... he doesn't give a damn if I care about him. Forget it. _**

**"Wanna try one?" The man asked, placing a burger onto a slice of bread with his spatula.**

**"Sure, thanks a lot!" Zella said happily, taking the burger from him. "You have no idea how hungry I am. We've been traveling all over the place forever... just eating from scratch... There's no way I can thank you enough, man!"**

**Zella placed the burger against her lips.**

**"I wouldn't-" Charon began, but it was too late.**

**Zella was already chewing on her first bite, and after she swallowed it, her expression melted joyfully.**

**"Oh, God... I'm so happy... thanks a lot, man, seriously."**

**She took another bite, then another... and soon, the burger had vanished.**

**Charon watched her, making an odd face.**

**"You really ought to spend a little time here, little lady." The man said. "We're having a cook-out tonight. We're a little short on meat, but... I'm sure there will be enough for everyone."**

**"Sure! We really-"**

**"No." Charon interrupted.**

**Zella and the man both looked his way.**

**"We're leaving." Charon said, then grabbed Zella's arm with a vice-like grip and lead her back down the road from where they came, away from the man's house.**

**"What the hell are you doing?" Zella yelled. "He was being really nice to us! I don't wanna leave-let _go_!"**

**She broke away from him once they were halfway down the street. They stood in the middle of the road, their eyes burning into one another, both stuck in another staring contest, and both looking upset.**

**"Why do you wanna leave?" Zella demanded.**

**Charon didn't respond.**

**"Answer me, why do you wanna leave?"**

**Charon still kept quiet.**

**"Why don't you ever talk to me?" Zella asked. "Tell me what's on your mind. _Tell_ me."**

**They continued staring at one another, until Zella gave up.**

**"Fine." She said, breaking their eye contact. "Don't talk to me. Whatever makes you happy. I don't give a shit."**

**"Excuse me?" An unfamiliar voice came from behind them, making them both turn around.**

**An old man had wandered out of his nearby house, giving them both a shocked expression.**

**"What are you two doing here?" He asked them. **

**Zella and Charon, still having yet to finish their argument, exchanged glances.**

**"What in God's name possessed you to come to Andale?" The old man said.**

**"I... dunno." Zella said. "I'm looking for Vault 112. Is it around here?"**

**"You can't be here, you can't be in Andale." The old man told her, ignoring her question.**

**"Why not?"**

**"Just leave, I've said too much already. Just leave right now, alright?" He said, looking frantic. "If you stay here, you're going to die. That's all I can tell you. Now leave, please!"**

**Zella, beginning to suspect that this man may have been a lunatic, turned and began to walk away, her companions following her.**

**"Don't stop or talk to anyone! Just go! Run!" The man hollered from behind, just before slamming his door shut.**

**"The hell was that all about?" Zella said, giving the old man's house a strange look. "Something weird is happening around here. Something... something secret."**

**A slight half-smile appeared on Zella's face, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.**

**Charon stared at her.**

**"You're kidding me." He said.**

**"Come on, aren't you wandering what's wrong with this place?" Zella said to him. "Aren't you curious at all? Come on... don't you wanna find out? I do."**

**"That's a bad idea." Charon told her. "This place is not safe."**

**"_Nowhere_ is safe!" Zella retorted. "Listen, I'm gonna go find out what's wrong with this place. I really want to know... because if the town is having problems, I might be able to help them out. Because I _care _about people! I'll be back later, okay? Just... wait here for me."**

**Zella looked down at Dogmeat, who was whining sadly, sensing the tension.**

**"Dogmeat, stay here. Don't move until I get back." She ordered, making him whine again.**

**And without a second glance, Zella marched down the street by herself, leaving Dogmeat sitting unhappily in the road beside Charon, who watched his employer until she was out of sight.**

* * *

**The night sky looked misty, still coated with nuclear clouds and fog.**

**"Is something troubling you, young lady?" Jack Smith asked, placing a burger onto his wife's plate. The entire town was huddled outside of his house, sitting on blankets, and eating the burgers that he was cooking.**

**"No, nothing." Zella lied, staring down at her half-eaten burger. Her stomach was still grumbling loudly, but despite her hunger, she couldn't eat anymore, for some odd reason. Her appetite was gone.**

**Zella thought of Charon, who was still waiting outside of the town somewhere. **

_**No,**_** she thought. _He doesn't care about me, why should I care about him? _**

**When Jack and the other citizens weren't paying any attention to her, Zella stood up and slipped away, inching behind Jack Smith's house and out of sight. She intended to learn the secret of Andale, but as far as she could see, the town's people seemed incredibly normal, apart from being eerily cheery...**

**Zella stepped into the back yard, and the first thing to attract her attention was a huge shed sitting opposite her, almost the size of a small house. She looked around, ensuring that no one was watching, then stepped towards the shed.**

**She gave a small tug to the handle, but it wouldn't budge.**

_**Locked.**_

**Zella slipped a bobby pin into the key hole, and after tinkering with it, she was able to activate the tumbler, and the door creaked open. Proud of her lock-picking skills, Zella grinned, then slipped into the shed.**

**To her right was a fridge, and Zella rushed up to it, opening it, having yet to lay her eyes on the rest of the room. Inside, she found ten plastic-wrapped packages of frozen strange meat. Though she was unsure of what kind of animal the meat came from, she figured that the town's people had enough food to get by... so, they wouldn't mind if she stole these packages...**

**After stuffing her satchel full of the strange meat, Zella was smiling. _There's no point in trying to poke into the town's business, _she thought. _Charon was probably right... I'll make up with him... I don't like us being pissed at each other. He'll be in a better mood once he sees how much food I got for us... _**

**When she turned away from the fridge, nothing could have prepared her for the sight that met her eyes.**

**The inside of the shed contained something unthinkable... it nearly made her vomit...**

**She didn't have time to react before a pair of arms extended from behind, coiling around her like a python, a hand clamping over her mouth, muffling her screams... a needle jabbed into her neck, and shortly after, Zella's vision began to soften, fading, blurring... and she knew no more.**


	14. Andale, Part II

**Charon sat in the middle of the road under the night sky, waiting for his employer to return. He sat there, Indian style, crossed arms, and a testy expression on his face until about midnight.**

**Dogmeat rested his head on Charon's leg, his ears pointed down, his eyes big, wet, and sad. He continued to whine, making Charon uneasy.**

**"I don't know where she is." Charon grumbled in response to Dogmeat.**

**Dogmeat licked Charon's arm, releasing a few more whines.**

**"Its not my fault." Charon groaned scratchily, staring off into the distance.**

**Dogmeat peered up at him, giving a long, whimpering yowl.**

**"I don't care what you say." Charon said grumpily. "Let her do what she wants. She's just my employer. I don't have any say over what she does. If she gets killed, its on her head. I got nothing to do with it."**

**A high-pitched howl escaped through Dogmeat's lips.**

**"Ehh... what do you know." Charon said. **

**A moment passed by, during which the two of them were quiet.**

**"Talking to a goddamn dog..." He grunted. **

**Then, Charon stood, staring at the town, hands balling into fists.**

**"No. Stay here." Charon told Dogmeat when he tried to follow.**

**After heading into the town, he examined everything. There were a bunch of empty blankets lying on the road in front of a house, but apart from that, the area was empty and soundless. **

**Charon squinted, sure not to miss anything. Then, he spotted a shed behind the house, its doors hanging just the slightest bit open...**

_**Goddammit, **_**he thought. _If she's sneaking around, that's where she'd be... blasted idiot..._**

**Charon stepped into the back yard, sliding his combat knife out of its sheathe. He approached the door cautiously, his hand wrapped tightly around the handle of his blade, holding it at his side, then grasped the door with the edges of his fingers, easing it open, with a long, soft _creeeeeeeeeak. _**

**He stepped over the door frame, narrowing his eyes, attempting to adjust his sight to the darkness within the shed. Taking a few steps inside, he was able to make out everything within the shed, and shortly afterwards, a putrid, horrible smell met with him, making his insides squirm.**

**There was a long, wooden table, littered with segments of human body parts. Arms, legs, and even a couple of skulls. The bones had been picked clean of their meat, and most likely, as Charon suspected, preserved in the nearby fridge. Everything was splattered with blood, and the sides of the walls were aligned with a few human-sized cages, all containing the remains of some unlucky souls who had wandered upon Andale.**

**Charon ground his teeth together, his jaw going a little crooked, his eyebrows pressed firmly against the tops of his eyes, wearing a face mixed with anger, displeasure, and sheer, complete disgust.**

**"God _dammit." _He hissed, then stormed out of the shed, slamming one of the metal doors behind him.**

**He stomped onto the road again, staring at the house... the one where the man was grilling strange meat burgers earlier in the day. This was the house where everyone gathered for a cook-out, so this would be the one containing anything important... perhaps whoever's running the show, whoever's slaughtering people and making them into burgers.**

**"Auugh." Charon growled, pushing the front door open and stepping inside.**

**The inside of the home looked much cleaner than any home they'd ever come across, but Charon couldn't care less. He made his way to the back of the house, still holding his knife at the ready. He found a basement door, then tried to turn the knob-**

_**Krk.**_

**The basement door was locked.**

**Since no one seemed to be in the house, he figured they were hiding in the basement, doing something secret... something sick... and Charon, unlike Zella, had no experience picking locks whatsoever. So, he tried a different approach.**

**BAM-_CRASH_.**

**Charon launched his foot into the center of the door, sending it flying off its hinges, shards of wood scattering in all directions. He then made his way down the stairs.**

**Three people were struggling at the end of the dingy room; Jack and Linda Smith were both wrestling with Zella, attempting to restrain her, while Zella was fighting against them desperately. This room, like the shed, was full of blood, body parts, and a single, messy bonesaw...**

**Charon didn't waste a second-he came from behind and wrapped his arms around Linda's head, and in one swift, strong movement, snapped her neck cleanly backwards.**

**Her husband, Jack, now shocked and enraged, lunged at Charon...**

**Charon shoved his blade deep into Jack's belly, hearing the _slice _of his skin... Jack's eyes going wide, mouth agape... blood pouring onto the floor, coating Charon's hand...**

**"What's the matter, _eh_?" Charon snarled, his eyes shining with fury, his ghoulish mouth crinkling into a small, wicked smile, just before twisting the blade inside him, feeling his organs slice open...**

**_"Can't stand the sight of your own blood?" _**

**Charon kicked Jack onto the floor, ripping the knife out of his body harshly.**

**Zella stood against the wall, her hair screwed up, her face stained with tears, looking absolutely terrified. She cradled her arms, trying to force them to stop shaking.**

**Charon could have stood there, rooted to the spot, his armor, hand, and blade all now covered in blood, merely staring at Zella for an eternity before either of them made a move, or uttered a sound.**

**Then, shakily, Zella stepped towards him, gulping, attempting to force herself into calmness.**

**"Mistress." Charon said, hiding his bloody blade in its sheathe. "I apologize.. but you...you made an unwise decision. Its written in my contract that whenever the situation arises-"**

**Charon stopped mid-sentence, his heart leaping. **

**Zella embraced him, holding him tightly, burying her face in his chest, ignoring the blood stains all over his body. The two of them were so close, he could feel her trembling...**

**This cut him to the quick.**

**Charon was so tall, his chin was nuzzling her hair. Still, he looked down, wondering what he was expected to do now. **

**Zella, rather than scolding him for acting on his own accord, rather than resuming their earlier argument, rather than speaking at all... instead, she squeezed him, trying her damnest to swallow her cries. Some of the sobs escaped her, and before she knew it, she couldn't hold them back...**

**A strange, unexplainable sensation began to spread warmly through Charon, an odd, puzzling feeling which he'd never felt before. He'd never been hugged before, and he'd certainly never been in a situation where he was expected to comfort anyone... but now, for the first time, he felt obligated to do so... despite the fact that there's nothing about it in the contract...**

**Charon wrapped his left arm around her, the arm free of blood.**

**He let out a slow, easeful breath, his eyes mollifying, mellowing...**

_**All right, Mistress.**_

* * *

**The other town members caught wind of the struggle, and after retrieving Dogmeat, the three of them were suddenly being attacked by many angry cannibals wielding kitchen knives. It was short work for Zella and Charon, both carrying their combat shotguns... soon, Andale was nothing more than a bloody mess of dead cannibals, and now, Zella, Charon, and Dogmeat were traveling over a small bridge nearby, away from the town, and on to their next adventure.**

**"That was scary..." Zella breathed, running a hand along the side railing beside her. "I... I've never been so scared in my life. I... I thought they were gonna..."**

**She trailed off, then stopped walking, leaning on the railing, and staring down into the creek below, the moon shimmering in the water's reflection. Zella enjoyed seeing the moon, as it was the only thing big and bright enough to show up in the night sky of the wasteland. The sky was always too clouded and foggy to reveal any of the stars.**

**"At... at least we solved the problem, I guess." Zella said, nodding to herself. "Yeah... no more cannibals snatching people off the street and cooking them into burgers..."**

**Zella thought of the human burgers she'd eaten, then used every ounce of her willpower not to vomit.**

**A moment passed. Then, Zella turned, facing Charon, who was still holding his shotgun in one hand.**

**"Thanks." She said to him.**

**Charon blinked, saying nothing.**

**"When we first got here... you knew Jack was cooking human meat on that grill, didn't you?" Zella asked. "That's why you wanted to leave. But... how did you know he was cooking human meat?"**

**"Its smell." Charon told her. "I... used to be in the company of cannibals. They ate human meat... it has a distinct, disgusting smell. I recognized the scent."**

**A moment of silence lingered over the two of them.**

**"You saved my life. So... thank you." Zella smiled, her eyes still sparkling with tears. "I know you came because you're my friend, not because of that stupid contract."**

**"You don't need to thank me, Mistre-"**

**"Charon, call me Zella. Please." Zella asked.**

**Charon took a moment, looking diminished.**

**"I am obliged to call you Mistress." He said.**

**She stared at him, grinning broadly, releasing a breathless laugh. She didn't much care what he called her... hell, he'd risked his life to save her... he honestly _did _care...**

**Then, she pulled the packages of meat out of her satchel and tossed them over the edge of the bridge. They each made a _plop _when they landed in the water, and as they floated away, Zella, Charon, and Dogmeat continued down the road, leading to whatever else the wasteland had waiting for them.**


	15. Minefield

**Ever since Andale, if Zella hadn't imagined it, it seemed that Charon had become a bit more talkative. He wasn't a chatterbox, of course... but more often, when Zella would speak to him, he'd respond, like any regular person. It made her a little happier than she thought it would. And oddly, despite still being unable to locate Vault 112, Zella felt a bit more comfortable traveling the wastes now. Traveling alone, she was nearly killed almost routinely, but in a group, Zella and her friends proved to be more unstoppable than ever.**

**And ever since leaving Andale, things seemed to mellow, and Zella barely noticed that two weeks had gone by...**

**"You alright?" Zella asked Charon, peeking behind her as they walked.**

**"Yes. Why do you ask?" Charon answered.**

**"Well, eh... you haven't had your fix in two days. I'm just... checking on you."**

**"I will survive, Mistress." Charon told her. **

**"As long as there aren't any cars nearby..." Zella commented, smiling.**

**Charon scowled.**

**"Oh, come on." Zella said, noticing his face. "Every time we get into a fire fight, you blow up all the old cars around us. Every single time. It never fails."**

**"I am simply fulfilling my contract." Charon mumbled.**

**Zella laughed.**

**"Where in your contract does it say you have to blow up every pre-war vehicle in sight?"**

**"It wasn't intentional..."**

**"Are you sure? Cause it happens every time."**

**"I'm only assisting you in combat... as it says in my contract..."**

**"Hahaha... I'm just giving you hell, Charon. Don't worry about it. I'm gonna make you grow a sense of humor. I'm gonna make that a goal for us. 'Make Charon get a sense of humor' is going straight on my bucket list... Ahahaha!"**

**Dogmeat joined in by barking, happy to hear laughter from his master.**

**Zella, still laughing, pet Dogmeat's head, scratching behind his ears.**

**Charon turned his head, giving her a mildly scornful look.**

**They stopped at the bottom of a hill, realizing they'd stumbled across a small, empty-looking town.**

**"Looks like a town." Zella said, staring up the hill at the few buildings and old cars.**

**"I believe we've wandered too far east again, Mistress..." Charon said, approaching her from behind.**

**"This place isn't marked on my map..." Zella told him, checking her Pip-Boy. "We're not gonna know what this place is until we... check it out."**

**"There may be danger here." Charon responded.**

**"Yeah, I know."**

**"We shouldn't hang around here, Mistress."**

**"We won't stay for long." Zella assured, facing him, giving him a confident smile. "You can wait here if you want. I'll be fine checking it out by myself."**

**Charon made a face.**

**"That's not wise." He said in a low voice.**

**"Well, then come on. What's the worst that could happen?" Zella said, then began up the street before Charon could reply. As the three of them marched up the hill, a chill slivered down Charon's spine.**

**Charon's eyes darted from one building to another, seeking out any possible threat that could be awaiting them. Although there didn't seem to be any noise or movement around, Charon couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.**

_**Pnk. **_

**Charon stopped, staring at the old ruined car beside him. He hadn't imagined it... he swore he'd heard a tiny, strange "ping" come from this car... but maybe not...**

**"Maybe I'm just jumpy..." Charon grumbled to himself.**

**Zella and Dogmeat were only a couple feet ahead of Charon when the car suddenly burst into flames. Charon didn't have time to warn them before it-**

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOM.**_

**From inside the car came a massive explosion, sending the three of them flying in different directions. Before they knew it, they were all lying on the cement somewhere, scorched metal debris raining down from the sky...**

**"Charon!" Zella screamed from a few yards away, lying on her side, propping herself up. "What the hell happened?!"**

**"It wasn't me!" Charon shot back, sitting upright.**

_**Pnk.**_

**Charon, within that split second, realized that there was another ruined car, right behind Zella.**

**"Move!" He hollered hoarsely, swatting his arm.**

**Too late. **

**Flames engulfed the second car, and just like before, it detonated like a miniature atomic bomb. More debris covered the area, and the ground shook... Charon didn't see where Zella ended up...**

_**"Shit!" **_

**Charon stood, swearing under his breath, examining the area in search of Zella and Dogmeat.**

**Dogmeat came galloping from behind one of the buildings, seeming to be unscathed apart from a small gash on his left side. He began growling and barking angrily, staring up at a building off in the near distance.**

**Charon looked up, and sure enough, the tallest half-ruined building in the area was inhabited by a single man, standing on the very top floor, holding a sniper rifle...**

**Without another thought, Charon pulled out his shotgun and aimed for the gaps in the wall, hoping to hit the sniper. He may have been at a disadvantage, attempting to snipe an opponent with a weapon meant for up-close-and-personal combat, but that had never stopped him before.**

_**BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.**_

**Charon pulled the trigger repeatedly, sending 12 gauge rounds into nearly every inch of the building visible to the naked eye. After a moment, he realized that the sniper dropped... he fell out of one of the windows, hitting the hard ground below. _Victory. _**

**Charon concealed his gun, then turned to find Zella coming towards him. She was wearing a few new scrapes and bruises, but on a whole, she was almost completely unharmed.**

**"Jesus!" She gasped. "That was close!"**

**The two of them stared at one another for a moment, both now beginning to calm down.**

**"I can't believe that car didn't kill me..." Zella said, slowing her breath, placing one of her hands over her chest.**

**"Are you injured?" Charon asked her.**

**"Nah... not really. You?" Zella replied.**

**"No." Charon said, taking another look at the tall, broken building. "A sniper was destroying the cars. Trying to kill us."**

**"Where is he?" Zella asked, staring up into the general direction where Charon was looking**

**"Dead." Charon said.**

**Zella looked at him.**

**"You killed a sniper with a shotgun?" She asked.**

**Charon nodded.**

**"Jesus... Thank God you're on my side." Zella told him.**

**When Zella looked down, her expression dropped.**

**"Charon." She said anxiously.**

**"What?" **

**"Don't move."**

**Charon stared at her, giving her an odd face.**

**Zella pointed down at Charon's feet.**

**Under his left foot was what appeared to be a small, yellow landmine, a single red light on it beeping, indicating that it was active and ready to blow.**

**"Get away from me." Charon told her instantly.**

**"What?"**

**"When I move, this thing is gonna blow. Get away from me." Charon ordered, his eyes stuck on the landmine.**

**"But... I can't leave you... that thing is gonna kill you-"**

**"Nah, it won't." Charon said. "Get back. Away from me." He waved his hand, gesturing for her to get away.**

**Zella gave him a pleading face.**

**"I... I can't just..."**

**"I've stepped on a landmine before." Charon told her. "It ain't gonna kill me. Now... if you don't wanna get hurt, Mistress... get _away _from me."**

**Charon met her eyes, his glare burning into her.**

**Zella, appearing incredibly torn, began to step backwards, without taking her eyes off him.**

**Dogmeat followed her, until they were a safe distance away.**

**Charon, staring down at the landmine, began calculating exactly how he'd move his leg, so not to end up with any broken bones... hopefully...**

**He could have stood there for hours before finally working up the gall to move.**

**Every second felt like forever as Zella stood, grasping her arms, her nails piercing her skin, watching her friend, her lip trembling, anticipating the worst.**

**It happened.**

**Zella's eyes snapped shut.**

**Her fingers were wrapped around her arms so tightly, she didn't realize that her nails had drawn blood... the ground shook, and Zella began to shake, terrified to open her eyes... **

**Still, she did.**

**It took her a moment to locate her friend, who was lying yards away on his back, motionless.**

_**"Oh God!" **_


	16. Distress

_**Disgusting.**_

_**The word rang through Charon's mind over and over. It was the only thing he could think of... and understandably, too... it was truly, frankly, whole-heartedly disgusting.**_

_**"Charon, get over here." Daren ordered.**_

_**A stab of anger ran through Charon. All these years being a slave, and now, even after finding a contract holder, even after finally being rid of the encampment, he still felt some odd surge of hate whenever someone barked orders at him... oh, to deliver justice... to unleash hell on his superiors... he'd give anything to do it... anything...**_

_**"Yes." Charon muttered. He was still getting used to his own voice... ever since his complete ghoulification, he never recognized his own voice when he spoke. It had become a raspy, sickening, hoarse voice... one that didn't belong to him at all... one that truly belonged to some sort of ghoul, straight out of hell...**_

_**Daren, and his girlfriend, a mean-looking blonde woman named Janet, were sitting at a table in their run-down apartment, eating burgers... particularly disgusting burgers...**_

_**"Eat this." Daren commanded, holding up one of his burgers. "I ate too much, I can't finish this."**_

_**Charon stared at the burger, hiding his repulsion.**_

_**"I am not hungry, sir." He said a moment later.**_

_**Daren turned his head, meeting Charon's eyes. **_

_**"Did I fuckin' ask if you were hungry?" He snapped. "I wanna see you eat this."**_

_**A sly, evil smirk emerged on Daren's face, his cold eyes shining with a sick pleasure.**_

_**Charon twitched.**_

_**He understood... Charon understood... Charon was the one forced to hunt down random, innocent travelers in the wastes... Charon was the one forced to skin them alive for Daren and Janet's amusement... Charon was the one forced to make meat patties out of human flesh... his contract holder, Daren, and his wicked girlfriend were both cannibals, but before now, they'd never tried to make Charon eat human meat... **_

_**Charon stood there silently, glaring at the burger.**_

_**Daren reached his feet, rounding on Charon.**_

_**"Do I ever have to tell you to do something twice?" He snarled, only an inch from Charon's face now.**_

_**"Eat it. NOW."**_

_**He shoved the burger into Charon's chest.**_

_**Charon took hold of it, still staring at it, wishing dearly he could be anywhere but here...**_

_**"Eat it."**_

_**Daren flipped out a revolver, jamming the barrel into the side of Charon's head.**_

_**Charon held the burger to his mouth, his stomach giving a sickened leap...**_

_**Everything changed... once the taste sank into his tongue, the world around him vanished, and he suddenly found himself face to face with his parents... the parents he'd lost in the war... my God, he barely remembered what they looked like... then, his parents exploded into a thick mess of blood and gore, almost as though they'd both swallowed a couple of grenades... Ahzrukhal appeared, stepping over the bloody ruins of Charon's mother and father, holding a cigarette between his fingers elegantly, wearing that sleek, nasty smile, as he often did... he laughed in his high, scratchy ghoul voice... you will do as you're told... you belong to me... you're less than nothing...**_

_**Something quick happened-**_

_**Someone was trying to hit him again-**_

_**Not in the face-**_

_**Not the collar- **_

_**No..**_

_**Don't...**_

_**DON'T-!**_

**"Charon?"**

**Some sort of panic seemed to overcome him, and his eyes opened instantly, his heart throbbing madly.**

**A pale, smooth-skinned girl was hovering over him, inches from his face... her short, crimson-red hair hanging over her head as she hunched over him, her cerulean blue eyes glistening... she looked incredibly concerned... why... _why's she concerned...? What's she worried about...? _**

**"Can you hear me?" Zella asked, her tone giving a slight tremor. "Say something... please..."**

**Charon blinked a couple of times... yes... _yes, it was her... Zella... that's right... __not Daren... not Ahzrukhal... _**

**"Mistress..." He croaked softly.**

**"Jesus fucking Christ.. you scared the hell out of me... asshole!" Zella said, her voice sounding a bit different... light... broken... shaky... _had she been crying...? _**

**"Sorry..." Charon muttered weakly, allowing his eyes to drift shut.**

**After a moment, his rational thoughts beginning to return to him, he swore he felt something grazing over his cheek... something solid, smooth, and warm...**

**Zella placed her hand on Charon's face softly, biting her lip, still fighting down tears.**

**As the feeling slowly came back to him, Charon began to realize that his body was in immense pain... his left leg was stinging terribly, and the pain jolted from his leg all the way up his left side... the feelings indicated that he hadn't been paralyzed, at least... thank God...**

**As Charon's eyesight adjusted, he noticed that he was staring up at, not only Zella, but the night sky above them... shit... how long had he been unconscious...?**

**"Your leg was bleeding." Zella told him, her voice making him a bit more alert. He kept fighting the urge to drift back to sleep. "I... I fixed your leg up. Its not broken... but it got cut open somehow. Its gonna be fine, though. I put medicine on it... wrapped it up... its gonna be fine."**

**"Thank you..." Charon said, feeling as though he was a million miles away... he found it oddly difficult to keep his eyes open, for some reason...**

**Zella had never heard Charon say "thank you" before.**

**"Don't worry." She told him.**

**He fought against his body's powerful longing for sleep, but he gave in, allowing it to consume him... he wasn't sure when he slipped back to sleep... everything faded away from him... everything was black...**

_**"Charon?" **_


	17. Rocky Road to Vault 112

**The peak of the sunrise was gorgeous, despite the layer of nuclear dust covering it.**

**Charon stared up at the sunrise for God knows how long, before he finally decided to move. Every inch of his body hurt, but it wasn't unbearable... he'd been though much, _much _worse, after all.**

**He didn't remember falling asleep, but now, he was grateful to have woken up at all.**

**As he easefully sat upright, a strike of pain shot down his spine, but he ignored it. Then, he glanced over, only to see that Zella had fallen asleep right beside him, less than a foot away...**

**Charon stared at her.**

**Dogmeat, looking livened by Charon's revival, stood up, ears perked, his flat tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. He stepped over to Charon, who gave him a pat on the head.**

**Dogmeat licked every visible inch of Charon's hand, and Charon, strangely, didn't object.**

**After Charon's hand had been fully licked, Dogmeat turned to the sleeping Zella, then began licking her face.**

**Charon, watching, didn't realize that he was smirking.**

**"Stop it..." Zella groaned, turning over.**

**Dogmeat then propped himself on top of Zella using his front paws, climbing over her entire body in order to reach her face. He pressed his ginormous tongue against her mouth, which resulted in Zella swatting him in the face repeatedly, until he finally backed off.**

**Charon repressed a laugh.**

**He continued staring at Zella and Dogmeat, a peculiar feeling brewing inside him.**

**It was odd, this situation... odd for him, anyway...**

**In fact, Charon couldn't recall a time when _anything _made him laugh.**

**Charon sat in the silence for a while, watching the sun in the sky until it was brighter than ever. **

**After about fifteen minutes, Zella sat upright, wiping the dog drool off her face with a discarded piece of gauze wrap.**

**She looked to her left, realizing Charon was awake.**

**"Oh, God..." Zella laid her hand on his shoulder. "Thank God... I was scared you weren't gonna wake up."**

**"Don't you go worrying about me, now." Charon told her, still staring into the sky.**

**"Yeah, right. You stepped on a landmine and it exploded under your foot. Why should I worry about you?" Zella said snarkily, making a smug smile.**

**"Its easier to be awake now..." Charon said in a soft tone, speaking mostly to himself.**

**Zella observed him.**

**And it was bizarre, because later that morning, Zella was able to cook a quick breakfast, and believe it or not, she and Charon shared small talk. Ordinary, friendly conversation... and although she knew he would never admit it, Zella knew that he'd forced down the desire to laugh a couple of times.**

**Surprisingly, Charon was able to walk on his injured leg within a matter of hours. Zella guessed that he must have been no stranger to pain, because he was certainly handling a landmine injury like a sure-fire champ.**

**The three of them left Minefield, heading back west, hoping to find Vault 112 sometime soon... and, as weird as it was, for the abandoned vault dweller with a missing father, and for the bodyguard with a terrible, twisted past, it seemed as though nothing could go wrong today.**


	18. Reunion

**It was the last place she expected to find it.**

**Days had passed, and here she was, wandering around in an abandoned old garage, hoping to take refuge for the night... who would've thought she'd find a mysterious switch on the wall... and who would have thought this switch would open up a gigantic, secret door in the floor, leading to a stairway underground.**

**Zella, Charon, and Dogmeat stood at the top of the stairs, staring down into the underground lair after the doors fully opened.**

**"This is it, Ron. This is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets." Zella said.**

**She smiled at Charon, who stared at her, looking completely lost.**

**"It... its a joke... from this book I used to read, down in the Vault..." Zella added. "H... haven't you ever read Harry Potter?"**

**Charon continued to glare at her, seeming to be anything but amused.**

**"Never mind... its just... n-never mind, forget it." Zella said, shaking her head, then beginning down the stairs.**

**The three of them made it halfway down the stairs before any of them spoke again.**

**"A secret door underneath an abandoned garage." Zella said. "Where the hell could this possibly lead, anyway?"**

**After reaching the bottom, Zella rounded a corner, only to find a humongous round vault door, identical to the one at Vault 101, only wearing a different number. After activating the switch, they stepped inside the vault, only to come face to face with a robobrain.**

**_"Welcome... citizen. You have arrived 2o2.3 years behind schedule. Please change into your Vault 112 suit and proceed to the simulation pods. Thank you... have a nice day." _  
**

**Zella stared at the robot for a moment, looking perplexed.**

**"Vault 112?" She uttered.**

**Then, she looked at Charon, wearing a completely dumbstruck face.**

**"We've spent weeks... walking all over the damn place... trying to find Vault 112... and here it is... we just find it on accident... just out of the blue... just..."**

**Zella trailed off, looking down, shaking her head again.**

**The three of them headed inside, and once they did, Zella spotted a long line of windows.**

**Zella pressed her face against one of the windows, staring into the huge room... a room full of big, human-sized pods... all connected by wires... all containing people... _people... _**

**"Dad must be in one of those..." She mumbled.**

**"Are you certain?" Charon asked, stepping beside her. He had to crouch in order to gaze into the window.**

**"There's no one else here, other than the robot." Zella said. "And the robot told me to get into a simulation pod. Everyone in this vault... they must all be in those pods... all hooked up to a hive-mind or something. That... that's how they all live in here. In a make-believe world... because the real world is so screwed up..."**

**Zella peered into the room longingly.**

**Charon watched her.**

**"I'm gonna have to go in there." Zella whispered. "You can't wake someone up in one of those pods... they'd go into shock or something. I have to go inside... I have to find him inside the simulation..."**

**"Don't." Charon told her. "If you don't find a way out, you're stuck in that pod. For good."**

**"I don't have a choice." Zella said. "Will you wait for me? Outside one of the pods, I mean... just... wait until I'm done."**

**Charon was quiet for a moment.**

**"Of course, Mistress. As you command."**

**They walked to the end of the hall, down the stairs, and into the simulation room. Zella approached an empty pod, then turned to Charon, gulping.**

**"I'll see you soon." Zella told her companions.**

**"Be careful," Charon responded, feeling a slight pinch of anxiousness.**

**Zella climbed into the pod, and the big, orb-like lid enclosed around her, sealing her inside.**

**Charon watched the pod for a moment, then crossed his arms, leaning against it. He stood there for quite a while... about an hour passed by... and after that, he wasn't sure how long he stood there before he sat down, leaned his head against the pod, and took a nap.**

* * *

**It sounded like a huge release of steam.**

**Charon blinked himself awake when he heard it.**

**The lid of the pod was opening... no, not just Zella's pod... **

**All of them.**

**All the pods were opening, and soon after, all the vault dwellers were climbing out of them, looking disoriented, discombobulated, and tired.**

**Charon stood up, and Zella hopped out of the pod, wearing a happy expression.**

**"Told ya' I'd be back." She said.**

**Before Charon could speak, a man approached them. Someone Charon didn't recognize.**

**Zella, however, looked completely taken. **

**Judging by her face, Charon guessed that this man must have been her long lost father.**

**Zella and her father met one another's gaze, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.**

**Charon stood close behind Zella, watching.**

**"You've saved me..." James said. "I was afraid I'd be trapped in there forever. Its so _good_ to see you, but... what on earth are you _doing _here?"**

**"I came to find you." Zella said simply, swallowing all the mixed feelings swarming around inside her.**

**"Well... its a good thing you did. I wasn't expecting Braun, or I might've fared better."**

**"What, you didn't like being a dog?"**

**"Well.. I suppose it had its moments. But in the end, I much prefer having opposable thumbs. But now, I can get back to work... I can tell Madison what I've learned..."**

**"What did you learn?"**

**"You've talked to Doctor Li already, I'm sure." James said. "Long story short... if we can find a G.E.C.K., we can make Project Purity work."**

**Zella stared at her father for a moment, silently searching for the right words.**

**"So..." She began. "You're going back to Rivet City right now?"**

**"Yes. With what I've learned, we know what we need to make Project Purity a success. We'd be able to distribute water to hundreds... thousands... and I'd like you to come with me. I want you to be there when we open the floodgates."**

**Zella was silent for a moment.**

**Charon watched them both, standing behind them, glancing around awkwardly, trying to seem as though he wasn't eavesdropping.**

**"Dad, I... I'm not going." Zella told him.**

**Charon glanced at her from behind.**

**James gazed into his daughter, looking a little unreadable.**

**"Really? You're not going with me..." He said. "Well, I... coming all this way after me, I figured you'd want to help. I have to keep going, I can't stop now. Well... meet me in Rivet City if you decide to change your mind. I... it would be nice to work with you, honey."**

**Charon didn't realize he was glaring at Zella, wearing a peculiar face.**

**Zella swallowed, masking every ounce of emotion that wanted to burst out of her.**

**"I've gotta go, Dad." She said.**

**"Be careful, sweetie."**


	19. Wasteland

**At the time, Zella wasn't sure what made her decide against working with her father... but now, it was all too clear. Now, she'd helped a rogue group of ghouls into Tenpenny tower, despite the bigots running it... now, she'd broken into an old museum, slaughtered all the super mutants, obtained the Declaration of Independence, and even came across the Bill of Rights. Abraham Washington was so overjoyed, he ended up paying Zella five hundred caps right then and there. And now, she seemed to have made a name for herself in the wasteland... the Talon Company seemed to be particularly interested in her, and a mysterious individual offered Zella a money reward for the fingers of all the evil doers she would put and end to. And Zella, after the wasteland had molded her into a hardened law-bringer, agreed.**

**Zella made the choice to follow her own path in the wasteland, to finally establish a life for herself, to stop chasing the trails of others... and after a solid month of serving justice, traveling for the soul purpose of killing all evil doers she came across, and resting in Megaton every now and then, life had, at long last, found some sort of meaning.**

**Still, every so often, a tiny, strange feeling would eat at her, nibbling at her subconscious, picking at her sanity... as though something was out of line... something was unresolved...**

**"Mistress, are we tailing anyone today?" Charon asked, breaking through her thoughts.**

**"Nah." Zella replied. "All the raiders around here are gone. Dead now. Thanks to us."**

**"Would you like to stop for tonight, or do you plan to return to Megaton?" Charon said.**

**Zella, still walking, looked up, noticing that the sun was dying, and night would fall very soon.**

**"What do you think we should do?" She asked a moment later, glimpsing behind her, watching him.**

**"It would be wise to return to your home, Mistress." Charon told her. "The Talon Company has been tracking us for the past week, and the raiders seem to recognize us personally as well. Its not as safe for us to camp as it used to be."**

**"Yeah... you're right." Zella said, nodding to herself. "You're always right."**

**So, Zella, Charon, and Dogmeat reached Megaton within the hour, all taking refuge inside her home, all incredibly tired.**

**There were now two beds in her home, because Charon, as of now, was sleeping regularly through the night, which eased Zella's mind tremendously. Her success in breaking Charon of his previous jet habit was one of the few things she'd accomplished that she was honestly proud of.**

**"Charon." Zella said after a while, standing over the stove, where she was cooking everyone a few Brahman Steaks for dinner. Charon, who was sitting at her table, arms crossed, and expression exhausted, looked up.**

**"Do you think I should go see what Dad's up to?" She wondered.**

**Charon stared at her for a moment, then sat upright, leaning on the table.**

**"I believe that is your call." He said.**

**"Yeah, I know." Zella said, flipping one of the steaks. "But... there's a reason I ask you for advice. You always give me the right answer."**

**Charon looked down, thinking for a moment.**

**"I'm afraid I cannot help you much with this problem, Mistress." He said. "I have no parents."**

**Zella pondered on this, suddenly feeling guilty.**

**"But..." Charon added. "I believe that compassion is rare in the wasteland. And if you, er... have someone you, uh... _care_ about... you oughta' make sure they know it. They... they ain't gonna be around forever, ya' know."**

**Charon looked away, flustering, his face scrunching.**

**Zella peered back at him.**

**"Didn't expect you to say anything like that, Charon." She said, grinning.**

**Charon refused to meet her gaze.**

**"You asked. I answered." He grumbled.**

**Zella nodded.**

**"We'll go to Rivet City tomorrow and see what he and his scientists are up to." She told herself.**

**"As you command." Charon said.**

**After dinner, Charon and Dogmeat drifted to sleep. Zella, on the other hand, couldn't seem to rest, so instead, she made her way to the Saloon to visit her old friend...**

**When she approached the place, there were a few new lights strung up around the building, illuminating it in the night, and the sign now read; _Gob's Saloon. _**

**Zella, smiling at this, pushed the door open and stepped inside.**

**The inside was mostly empty, apart from one man sitting in the corner, and of course, Gob behind the counter, cleaning an old glass. Zella sat down right across from Gob, then leaned forward, staring at him.**

**Gob, after looking up, made a face.**

**"Oh, you're here." He said, recognizing Zella.**

**"Yeah. Why do you look so surprised?" Zella replied.**

**"Nothing, you just..." Gob blinked at her. "You look a bit different, that's all."**

**"Different how?" Zella asked.**

**"Not bad, or anything." Gob told her. "Just... just different, somehow."**

**"How have you been?" Zella asked him.**

**"I'll be honest... I've been different too." Gob said. "Been having to use a little bit more of a backbone, trying to run this place. Didn't realize how many assholes Moriarty used to tend to around here..."**

**"I hear ya'." Zella responded.**

**They were quiet for a small moment.**

**"Hey, so... I just wanted to stop in and say hi, because I'm leaving in the morning to go see what my Dad's been up to. I'm coming back, but I'm not sure when." **

**"Oh, that's good." Gob said, nodding. "That's good."**

**When Zella met his eyes, she noticed he seemed to be staring right through her.**

**"What's wrong?" She asked him.**

**Gob thought for a moment, then shook his head, looking down, continuing to clean his glass.**

**"Tell me what's on your mind." Zella said, now eyeing him suspiciously.**

**Gob met her gaze again, trying to find the right words.**

**"Don't let the wasteland change you too much, alright?" He said intently, in a sincere, genuine voice.**

**Zella, wondering what he could have meant, couldn't think of a way to respond.**


	20. Twisted & Torn

_**It never ended.**_

_**Torment never ended.**_

_**"You honestly think you're worth a damn?" Ahzrukhal's slick, harsh voice came. "You believe you're a human... with rights... and beliefs... not with me, you're not."**_

_**Something blunt hit him-he fought back- **_

**"Charon?"**

**Charon awoke to find Zella standing over him, right beside his bed.**

**"You've been muttering in your sleep all night. Are you okay?"**

**"Fine, Mistress." Charon lied. Despite his decaying skin, he was still able to feel sweat all over his body, his heart pounding... **

**Zella, unconvinced, continued observing him.**

**Charon avoided her eyes.**

**He rarely experienced night terrors anymore. This was the first time it had happened in a few weeks... **

**"Listen, I'm about to go to Rivet City." Zella told him.**

**Charon, now sitting up in his bed, stared up at her.**

**"I want you and Dogmeat to stay here. You guys... I think you need a break." She said. "You've been helping me a lot. I just figured you'd want to rest a little bit."**

**"If that is what you wish." Charon replied.**

**"I'll be back soon. Feel better." Zella told him before leaving his bedroom.**

**Charon, looking vacant, said nothing.**

**A moment later, he heard the front door slam shut downstairs.**

**The next couple of days were almost maddeningly silent.**

* * *

_**Charon. **_

_**Charoooon...**_

_**Get up, useless. **_

_**Get up.**_

_**"Get up!" **_

_**Ahzrukhal grasped the collar of Charon's leather armor, propping him up against the wall.**_

_**Charon, his vision incredibly skewed, couldn't find the strength to stand on his own...**_

_**"You're gonna have to get used to this, Charon." He said, leaning close to Charon's face. "This is something you need. This..." He held up a needle of jet. "This is your job now."**_

_**"Too much..." Charon muttered, barely able to make words.**_

_**"What?"**_

_**"Too... much..."**_

_**Ahzrukhal glared at him.**_

_**"You know, Charon... everyone seems convinced that ghouls are cursed... unblessed beings, doomed to look like a corpse... but you see... underneath that curse is a hidden beauty... we're radiation tolerant, and surprise surprise, we're also pretty tolerant of the chems too... you, Charon, are a ghoul, which means that you can take three times more jet in one setting than any ordinary old smoothskin."**_

_**Ahzrukhal slid the needle into Charon's arm, injecting him with more of the drug.**_

_**Charon winced, but oddly, he was unable to resist it...**_

_**"Its affecting your nervous system right now, see..." Ahzrukhal said slyly, easing the needle out of Charon's arm. "You've never had the stuff in your system before, I expect... otherwise, your body wouldn't be reacting so drastically to it... but don't worry, Charon... don't you worry... you'll get used to it... you'll be mine forever... trapped by the needle... heheheheheh..."**_

_**Ahzrukhal exhaled a cloud of smoke in Charon's face, and Charon breathed it, his eyes closing, his legs going limp, his consciousness abandoning him...**_

**Charon turned in his sleep, muttering something incomprehensible.**

**Dogmeat sat by his bedside, whining, watching him curiously.**

_**Things changed.**_

_**Charon stood in the corner of the Ninth Circle, fists balled, looking angrier than ever.**_

_**Ahzrukhal had only given him one needle today, and he knew very well that Charon needed much more than that to function properly... still, his employer continued to tend to his crooked customers, ignoring Charon's withdrawals completely. And, as Charon stood there, his eyes locked onto Ahzrukhal with a snake-like leer, Charon gritted his teeth together, his hands beginning to tremble...**_

_**Hours passed by, during which Charon was growing more and more infuriated, standing there, jaw crooked, eyes blazing with rage, but silent, still, and patient...**_

_**At long last, Ahzrukhal came from behind the counter, approaching Charon.**_

_**Finally, Charon thought bitterly, anxiously awaiting his next fix.**_

_**"Charon." He said, holding a small cardboard box. "This is a very important something... for a very important someone. A Mr. Burke is waiting in Tenpenny Tower... and I need someone to deliver it. Someone reliable. Do you understand?"**_

_**Charon's blood began to boil as he glared at his employer, repressing every violent urge inside him.**_

_**"My contract is for assisting you with combat, but I'm nobody's errand boy. I'm afraid you'll just have to deliver it yourself." Charon growled.**_

_**Ahzrukhal's eyes gave a slight flicker.**_

_**Charon, fully outraged, returned the hateful stare.**_

_**"Alright, Charon." He said in a high, wispy voice.**_

_**Then, within a second, Ahzrukhal flipped out a revolver, pulled the trigger, and-**_

_**BANG.**_

_**"AGH."**_

_**Charon collapsed, wrapping his hands around his right leg, which was now bleeding terribly...**_

_**BANG.**_

_**"NGH-!"**_

_**Ahzrukhal fired another shot, in the same leg, but this time, in the shin.**_

_**"How do you like that?" Ahzrukhal asked almost casually, his usual evil smile having vanished. "I suppose... if you don't want to deliver... then you won't mind not being able to WALK."**_

_**BANG.**_

_**"AAAH!"**_

_**Another shot, this time, landing directly in the middle of his foot.**_

_**Everyone in the Ninth Circle was now frozen solid, watching, flabbergasted.**_

_**Ahzrukhal squeezed the trigger again- **_

**"Augh!" Charon cried aloud, making Dogmeat perch up.**

**He sat upright, squeezing his head, a migraine tightening the veins in his skull, making him all the more agitated. **

**Charon stood, then planted his fist into the center of the lamp by his bedside.**

**"AAAUGH." **

_**KR-SPCHHHH. **_

**The lamp shattered, covering the room with shards, leaving a few small cuts on Charon's hand.**

**Dogmeat hung his head, his ears low, backing out of the room.**

**Charon stood there, his fist shaking, his face twisted in anger... he wasn't sure why, but over the past two days, it seemed to be impossible for him to sleep at all. Every time he tried to sleep, his thoughts overcame him, and he'd wake up less than an hour later, sweating, panting, and irritable.**

**When he first awoke, he'd expected to see the face of Zella hovering over him again... but she wasn't there... she hadn't been there for two days. Every time he attempted to sleep, his nightmares ate at him like termites on wood, and his anxiety seemed to spike drastically after Zella had left.**

**Charon, thinking of Zella, grew even more furious. Something about her presence made him calm enough to sleep... made the nightmares die down a little bit... her presence assured him that there were no longer any slavers around... there was no Daren... there was no Ahzrukhal... not any more...**

**But now, she wasn't here... and now, every second of every hour, Charon anxiously awaited his next order... a shock from the collar... a shot to the leg... a needle to the arm... but it didn't make sense... he knew that his old life was over... Daren was gone... Ahzrukhal was gone... all the slavers were gone... Zella and Charon personally exterminated the encampment at Paradise falls... the place where Charon was raised...**

**So then, why, why on earth, did his old memories continuously eat at him?**

**Perhaps the only thing capable of stopping the maddening thoughts was, in fact, the only thing that wasn't around anymore... that shiny red hair, those big blue eyes, that friendly, casual voice of hers... _Charon... stop calling me that, call me by my name... hey Charon, want a Nuka? Shut up, I'll worry about you if I want to... Charon, are you okay? You scared the hell outta me, asshole! _**

**"God dammit." Charon spat, staring down.**

**God dammit... **

**God _damn_ her, for leaving him alone like this...**

**The only thing keeping him sane...**

**The only person able to mellow his jaded, twisted mind...**

**And she just _had _to leave, didn't she...**

_**She just had to fucking leave...**_

**_"RRRGH-!"_  
**

**Charon launched his fist into the metal wall, creating a massive dent, and an echoing, ringing "DONG" noise.**

**"Are you alright, sir?" Wadsworth's robotic voice came as he hovered into the doorway. "Is there a problem?"**

**Charon said nothing, standing mid-center of his room, looking more torn and distraught than ever.**


	21. Everyone's Anguish

**It was nearly midnight when Gob found himself alone in the Saloon.**

**He didn't expect to have a customer at this hour, and he certainly didn't expect Zella.**

**She pushed the door open, approaching the counter.**

**Gob blinked, staring at her.**

**"Kid?" He said, exasperated. "Are you okay? What happened?"**

**Zella's hair was askew, even being held back by a bandana... her visible skin was riddled with bruises and cuts, and her clothing seemed incredibly dirty and torn. There was a deep gash on her cheek, and not only that, but the look in her eyes was one of absolute dismay.**

**She sat down, lying her head on the table.**

**Gob continued to stare at her, looking concerned.**

**After a moment, she lifted her head, meeting Gob's eyes. Gob then realized that Zella's face was stained with tears, along with a little blood...**

**"My dad's dead." She uttered gravely.**

**Gob's mouth hung open for a minute.**

**"I... I'm sorry, kid... I..."**

**Zella shook her head.**

**"We were about to get it working." She mumbled sadly. "We were about to get Project Purity working... we just needed the G.E.C.K... then the government showed up... the Enclave... they ruined everything... almost killed everyone... they took over the Jefferson Memorial... they have Project Purity now... and they..."**

**Zella choked up, unable to go on.**

**Gob watched her sorrowfully, wishing there was something he could say to mend her pain.**

**"Here, come back here." He said a minute later, waving her on. "Come on... come into the bathroom, we'll get you fixed up."**

**Zella stood and followed Gob into the Saloon's bathroom, still with a dead look in her eyes.**

**Gob rinsed his rag off, then placed it on Zella's cheek, wiping the blood off gently.**

**"Sorry if I'm bad at this." He said. "M'not used to working with smooth skin."**

**"Don't worry." Zella replied emptily.**

**"Have you told Charon?" Gob asked. "About... everything..."**

**"Haven't seen him yet." Zella said. "He... he doesn't know I'm back home yet..."**

**"Why not?"**

**"Well... I dunno... I don't really think he likes feeling like he has to comfort someone, I guess." Zella answered. "I... didn't want to stress him out by being all... sad..."**

**"You can't help it that you're sad." Gob told her, cleaning the last spot of blood off her face. "You wouldn't have a heart if you weren't sad, kid."**

**"Yeah..." Zella mumbled.**

**After cleaning her cheek, Gob rested his arm on her shoulder, giving her an empathetic look.**

**"I'd ask if you want a hug, but... I'm afraid you'd throw up." He said, revealing a half-smile.**

**Zella, lightened, gave him a weak grin.**

**They shared a hug, and Zella used all of her willpower not to start crying again. Gob patted her on the back, then Zella stepped back, sighing.**

**"Go and tell Charon you're back." Gob told her. "He's been a little on edge without you here."**

* * *

**Charon could have jumped from his ghoulish skin when the front door opened.**

**As Zella stepped into her home, she was greeted by a disgruntled Charon, storming down the stairs.**

**"Where the hell have you been?" Charon asked harshly.**

**Zella stopped mid-step, watching him oddly.**

**"I'm sorry." She told him.**

**Charon scowled, realizing that he'd spoken out of term. So, he forced down all his negative feelings, looking away.**

**"L-listen, Charon..." Zella began, doing her best not to let her voice tremble. "I... I'm working with the Brotherhood of Steel and the scientists from Rivet City, and we... we have to go get the G.E.C.K. from an old irradiated vault. The Enclave took Project Purity, but they don't have the code for it, only I do. And if we get the G.E.C.K. first, we'll be the ones who can run Project Purity... we're gonna work with the Brotherhood to take the Memorial back... so..."**

**Charon stood there, saying nothing.**

**"Are you alright?" Zella asked him.**

**"Don't worry about my well being, Mistress." Charon told her, then marched back up the stairs without another word.**

**Zella, too defeated to retort, decided to retreat to her own room. She spent the next couple of hours alone, her door locked, stifling her cries with her pillow.**


	22. GECK

**Zella, Charon, and Dogmeat cleared Vault 87 within about an hour.**

**It was the filthiest vault Zella had ever seen, irradiated to high hell. Still, by maneuvering carefully, and by flanking all the super mutants, Zella was able to get through the vault...**

**After traveling to Vault 87, Zella silently decided not to tell Charon about her father's death. Not yet, anyway... after all, he wasn't sure how to handle emotional situations... and not only that, but he already seemed pretty stressed as it is. She wasn't sure why, and although she wanted to ask, she was hesitant to do so.**

**After she was sure all the mutants had been killed, however, she decided to speak up.**

**"Charon." Zella said as the three of them stepped down the vault's hall.**

**"Hmmn." Charon moaned from behind her.**

**Zella stopped, turning around and facing him.**

**"Is something wrong?" She asked him. "You... you haven't been talking at all since I got back to Megaton. And you... you seem kinda... pissed off."**

**Charon's jaw twitched.**

**"No. Mistress." He lied forcefully.**

**Zella narrowed her eyes at him, studying him.**

**"If you say so. C'mon..."**

**They began down the hall again.**

**Charon, looking off, dug his fingers into the palms of his hands, his mind beginning to wander again...**

_**Charon, you garbage. Do you honestly think you're worth a damn? **_

_**Charon, you will do as you're told...**_

_**Do you want your needle? Then pay attention when I speak.**_

_**If I want you to be an errand boy, then you will BE an errand boy, understand?**_

_**BANG.**_

**"Nrgh..." Charon groaned to himself, making a subtly hardened face, trying to ignore his flashbacks.**

**"Shit." Zella said, peeking her head down a hallway. "The air feels like its burning down there. God... there's no way I'm gonna be able to get the G.E.C.K. out of there. Its flooded with radiation."**

**Charon, still a little disconnected, barely heard her.**

**"Charon." She said to him. "Could you go get the G.E.C.K. for me?"**

**"My contract states that I'm to assist you in combat, I'm nobody's errand boy." Charon scolded. "I'm afraid you'll just have to get it yourself."**

**Zella stood board stiff, glaring at him as though he slapped her across the face.**

**"What?" She said.**

**Charon looked at her, saying nothing.**

**"You won't... you won't do me a simple favor? Why?" Zella asked him. "Its radiation, its _nothing_ to you. Ghouls are _healed_ by radiation. Why won't you...?"**

**Charon still remained silent, looking unusually angry.**

**Zella continued watching him, her eyes seeming to darken.**

**They glared at one another for a full minute before either of them spoke.**

**"Fine."**

**She pulled a rolled up sheet of paper out of her satchel, a paper Charon very well recognized.**

**Taking Charon by complete surprise, Zella tore the paper into shreds, then threw them into the air. **

**"There. You're fired." Zella said straightly. "You don't have a contract anymore. And apparently, you don't give a shit about being my friend... just leave. Just go find a fucking life."**

**Charon's mouth opened, but he couldn't seem to say anything. Seeing his contract ripped to shreds sent an odd, stinging sensation throughout his body as he watched Zella, a strange expression spreading across his face.**

**"Are you certain that this is what you want...?" Charon asked, his normal tone returning to him, a sinking feeling of regret beginning to weigh him down.**

**"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Zella said, not allowing her voice to shake, and hoping dearly that she wouldn't burst into tears.**

**Charon took a long, painful moment, then nodded, staring downwards.**

**He turned and began down the hall from where they came, and Zella watched until he was out of sight.**

**Zella placed a hand over her mouth.**

_**No,**_** she thought. _I'm not crying anymore... I'm done crying... God dammit... _**

**But she couldn't ignore it...**

**Charon was gone...**

**Gone for good.**


	23. Eradication of the Enclave

**After Charon's departure, Zella found herself distracted from her despair when she came across a room containing a super mutant... but, oddly, this super mutant didn't seem hellbent on slaughtering her. A super mutant by the name of Fawkes.**

**After freeing him, Fawkes agreed to venture into the radiation filled room and retrieve the G.E.C.K. for her. After obtaining the G.E.C.K. and thanking Fawkes, however, Zella was met with a rather unpleasant setback.**

**The Enclave ambushed her, knocking her unconscious and taking her to their lair. She awoke strapped to a restraining device, and after fighting through their soldiers, had a long talk with the old president of the United States.**

**After refusing to poison the water of Project Purity, Zella convinced the president that the Enclave was, in fact, _not_ the greatest hope for humanity... that a useless voice on the radio was _not_ the answer to all the wasteland's problems... and, reluctantly, the president agreed. He then destroyed his own government, Zella narrowing escaping its self destruction, only to find her new friend Fawkes outside of the place, killing Enclave remaining soldiers with a huge, rapid-firing lazer weapon. Fawkes and Zella escaped together, and after reaching Rivet City, Fawkes parted ways with Zella, insisting that her "frequent company" wouldn't welcome a super mutant.**

**"Hey kid... its been almost a week since you left, ya' know." Gob said when Zella walked into the Saloon, only slightly battle damaged, but exhausted nonetheless. Dogmeat, right by her side, was wagging his tail, happy to be back home in Megaton. "I heard about everything on Galaxy News Radio. You alright?"**

**"Yeah. Fine." Zella told him, sitting in her usual spot.**

**"The Enclave radio signal's been fried. I'm gonna guess that you had something to do with that, huh?" Gob said.**

**"The Enclave's been destroyed." Zella responded. "Almost."**

**"Almost?"**

**"Yeah. What's left of them is still in control of Project Purity, though."**

**"Well... then why'd you come back here? Don't you wanna take that place back?"**

**Zella sighed.**

**"Project Purity has nothing to do with me" She mumbled, rubbing her forehead. "The only reason I got involved with any of this is because of Dad. And he..."**

**She trailed off. Gob studied her.**

**"I don't have to care about any of this." Zella said a moment later, giving Gob a cold, somewhat transparent look of apathy. "I just... I'm so tired... I'm so sick of all this... I don't care anymore."**

**Zella kept looking down, and Gob watched her silently for a moment.**

**"Where's Charon?" Gob asked a moment later.**

**A sharp, nasty feeling erupted in Zella's stomach.**

**"He decided he didn't want to be anything but a slave. He left." She mumbled darkly.**

**Gob, now looking a bit conflicted, wasn't sure what he could say to her to make her feel better. Her father died, and shortly after, one of the few friends she had in the wasteland up and vanishes...**

**"You know what I've been doing, Gob?" Zella asked, leaning her head on her hand, looking distant as ever.**

**"What's that?" Gob said, leaning on the counter and listening.**

**"After the Enclave was destroyed... I followed a few radio signals out in the wastes. Helped an Outcast group from the Brotherhood use a Chinese-Alaskan war simulation in order to access some crazy technology... ended up becoming a slave in a place called the Pitt, helped the slaves rebel and break out... And you wouldn't believe me if I told you this, but... I even got abducted by aliens. Me and a bunch of other captured people had to high-jack the ship in order to get back home."**

**Gob stared at her wordlessly.**

**Zella, peeking up at him, revealed a small smile when she saw his bewildered expression.**

**"You've only been gone for six days." He uttered. "How the hell'd you manage all that in six days?"**

**Zella shrugged, wiping a few of her loose bangs from her eyes.**

**"I wanted to travel alone for a bit... I have to get used to fending on my own, now." She said, her smile fading. "The hardest place I ended up was... was this place called Point Lookout. I met a ghoul named Desmond... he was a mean motherfucker, too... and... I ended up..."**

**Zella took a moment.**

**"I ended up in a swamp, and I inhaled some weird spores from a really weird tree. It made me hallucinate... and I saw a lot of things... kept hearing feral ghouls, even when they weren't around... I saw my mom's body... then I saw Mr. Burke, and some bobbleheads... and..."**

**Gob continued to listen intently.**

**Whatever she was talking about seemed to be bothering her immensely...**

**"I kept... hearing things." Zella said. "Some voice... saying... _dead mother, lost in an apocalyptic wasteland, and not a single friend in it... yeah, you're not exactly blessed... _and, when I was walking through the water... I kept finding bodies... Moria's body... Dad's body... your body, Gob... and Charon's..."**

**"Jesus, kid... what the hell did you get involved with out there?" Gob asked.**

**"Some tribe that wanted me to hallucinate in order to 'expand my mind' or whatever. They gave me surgery when I passed out, too... took out a part of my brain, apparently."**

**"That explains the scar..." Gob said, squinting at her forehead.**

**On Zella's forehead was a small, deep, jagged scar from where the tribals had cut her head open at Point Lookout.**

**"God damn... you oughta' be more careful, kid. You're getting pretty careless out there."**

**Zella shrugged again.**

**"You only live once." She said in a stony voice.**

**Gob watched her wanderingly as Three Dogg's voice continued to preach from the radio. The last customer of the night walked out the doors, leaving Gob and Zella alone, indicating that it must've been at _least _eleven pm by now.**

**"I need a drink, Gob." Zella said after a couple of minutes.**

**Gob glared at her.**

**"Since when do you drink?" He asked.**

**"Since now." Zella replied. "Please."**

**Gob hesitated, then turned, facing his liquor shelves. "What'll ya' have?"**

**Zella released a long, tired breath.**

**"A bottle of wine. And a bottle of scotch."**

**Gob brought the bottles to her, setting them on the counter. Zella opened them both, took a large swig of the wine, then began mixing the contents of the two bottles.**

**"You, uh... you like to mix your liquor, then." Gob said.**

**"I can't take straight liquor. This is the only way I can do it." Zella told him, then turned up one of the bottles and took several big swigs. After a minute, she slammed the bottle onto the counter, completely empty.**

**"Yummy." Zella said hoarsely, smirking.**

**"You down that stuff faster than Patchwork." Gob said. "Christ, kid."**

**Zella pressed the second bottle to her lips, turned it up, and continued gulping until the second bottle was bone-dry empty, just like the first.**

**She pushed the two empty bottles away from her, then laid her head on the table, exhaling.**

**"Listen, kid... I've gotta go around back and take inventory on a few things. I'll be back in a second." Gob told her, staring at his clipboard. "If you need anything, feel free to grab it. You can come behind the counter if you want."**

**Gob headed out the back door, leaving Zella sitting by her lonesome in the Saloon.**

**Zella laid perfectly still on the counter for a minute or two, feeling a faint, tingly warmness spread throughout her body. She wasn't entirely sure why, though... couldn't be the alcohol... alcohol had never made her drunk before... why would it start now...?**

**Then, out of the blue, images of the town Minefield flashed through her head... the sniper, the cars exploding... Charon always blew up cars... sometimes she suspected he did it on purpose, just for the thrill... but he'd managed to kill a sniper with a shotgun... God, that was amazing... about as amazing as killing two psychotic cannibals with a combat knife... but, no... Charon wasn't here anymore... that's right... he didn't want to be around... _dead parents, life in an apocalyptic wasteland, and not a single friend in it... yeah, you're not exactly blessed... _**

**Zella shook her head, then slid off the stool, reaching her feet. It was strange, because she was sure she was able to see everything clearly, but even still, her vision seemed different somehow... more round... maybe more blurred... nah, she was imagining it...**

**After creeping behind the counter, Zella took another two bottles, scotch and wine. She re-claimed her seat, opened the bottles, mixed them together, and began chugging one of them...**

**This time, however, she couldn't drink the entire thing. When about half of the alcohol in the bottle was gone, Zella sat the bottle down, realizing that her stomach was beginning to feel queasy.**

**She sat there for a moment, gazing around the room, paying eerily close attention to the ringing of Three Dog's voice.**

**Two or three more swigs later, the series of maddening images finally seemed to stop... her father's face... Charon's angry scowl... Gob's friendly, ghoulish grin... and the blood... all the blood of the lives Zella had extinguished in the wastes...**

**As her head seemed to lighten, and the room seemed strangely brighter, the thoughts finally faded from her mind. **

**Good...**

_**Good, that means its working...**_

_**Just a bit more... **_

**As Zella held up her bottle, intent on drinking all of the alcohol in front of her until she was no longer conscious, a firm, tight hand wrapped around her own, stopping her.**

**"No more, kid." Gob said, slipping the bottle out of her hand. "You're gonna kill yourself if you have anymore."**

**Zella fixed her eyes on him, her cheeks scarlet, and although she hadn't realized it, she seemed to be ever so slightly swaying in her seat...**

**"Come on, Zella." Gob said to her, leaning closer. "Don't you go thinking you don't have a reason to care about yourself, now. You single-handedly flipped _my_ life around, you know that?"**

**Zella stared into him, silent.**

**"Apparently, you changed a lot of people's lives... helped a bunch of slaves escape, and now working on getting purified water sent all over the wasteland... and you did the same thing for Charon that you did for me, kid. He's just not the kind of person that can admit it." Gob told her.**

**Zella, wearing a solemn face, still didn't speak.**

**"You gotta try to imagine what he's been through, kid. I knew him when I was back in Underworld... didn't know him too well, really... but I heard stories. He grew up in Paradise Falls, with a shock collar around his neck. Then got sold to some cannibals... then ended up with that fucking snake, Ahzrukhal. He doesn't hate you, kid. He just... doesn't know how to trust anyone. You and I know that feeling, eh?" Gob explained to her, leaning on the counter, inches from her face.**

**"I didn't save anyone." Zella said softly, a shake in her tone. "I wasn't trying to pretend I was some kind of saint, or anything... I just..."**

**Zella covered her face with her hand, hoping not to let Gob see her tears.**

**"I just wanted him to be alright..."**

**Gob stroked her shoulder.**

**"It just made me upset... thinking people live without any friends, or just don't give a shit about trust, or loyalty... I understand nobody's perfect... but... Jesus..."**

**Zella was now siphoning all her strength into repressing her cries.**

**Then, Zella shook her head and turned away from Gob.**

_**I'm not crying anymore.**_

**"I'm sorry, Gob. I'm just... gonna go home..."**

**When Zella attempted to stand, gravity seemed to increase, and she hit the ground like a ton of lead.**

**"Shit, kid..." Gob leaped over the counter, then knelt beside her, placing a hand on her back. "You alright?"**

**Zella released a heavy cloud of breath, her eyes shut... suddenly, it seemed incredibly burdening and challenging to preform the simplest of tasks, like standing, walking, speaking...**

**"Alrighty... com'ere, kid." Gob lifted her to her feet, one arm wrapped around her waist, and one propping her up with his shoulders. "Up we go, come on... you're staying here tonight."**

**Gob lead her up the stairs, entered his bedroom, and carefully laid her on his bed. He placed his blanket over her, covering her body, then gave her a pat on the shoulder.**

**"Sleep it off, kiddo. I'll come check on you in the morning."**

**When Gob began towards the door, Zella's hand yanked him back, grasping his wrist.**

**"Thanks." Zella said weakly, staring up at him. "Sorry..."**

**Gob shook his head.**

**"Don't worry about it, kid... you said we were friends, didn't ya'? **

* * *

**When sunlight bled into the Saloon, Zella blinked herself awake, ignoring her headache.**

**It took her a moment to remember exactly what she did the previous night, and how she ended up in Gob's bed. When she turned over, she spotted Gob lying on the floor, on his back, arms crossed, eyes shut, and snoring softly...**

**Zella sat upright, watching him**

**She draped the blanket over Gob, then gently nudged his pillow underneath his head, careful not to wake him.**

**Gob continued to snore quietly, looking strangely comfortable, despite sleeping on a metal floor. His expression seemed quite peaceful, more so than Zella had ever remembered of him...**

**Zella leaned over him, her mouth meeting his forehead, giving him a soft, gentle kiss on the head.**

**"I love you like family, you know." She whispered. "You better take care of this place... and take care of Megaton for me. I... I'm gonna miss you..."**

**Zella bit her lip, gulping. Then, she slowly stood, giving a last, long, painful stare to the first friend she'd made after discovering the wasteland. After an eternity of watching Gob sleep, Zella turned and headed down the stairs as quietly as possible.**

**No one had come into the Saloon yet, and Dogmeat was curled up on the floor. When Zella approached him, he jumped up, panting happily and greeting his master.**

**"Hey, boy." Zella said, bending down and petting the side of Dogmeat's face. "Listen... I know how smart you are, boy... I know you understand every word I'm saying... you've always done everything I ever told you to. So... so I need you to listen closely. This is the last thing I'm ever gonna ask you to do, okay boy?"**

**"Arooo?" Dogmeat yowled questioningly, his ears standing up.**

**"Stay here." Zella told him, gazing into his soft, wet eyes. "Stay in Megaton with Gob. You take care of Gob, and do whatever he says... he's your master now. And... and he needs a friend as loyal as you, okay boy?"**

**Dogmeat made a loud whining noise.**

**"I love you too." Zella kissed the top of his head.**

**Then, Zella stood and left the Saloon, Dogmeat watching her all the way, his ears upright, his eyes shining, and his tail drooping. **

**Zella spend the next half hour strapping herself to the teeth... she was wearing three belts full of ammunition, and she decided to put on her old cowboy duster, the one that once belonged to Lucas Simms. With her 44 magnum on her hip, her combat shotgun on her back, and her satchel full of every type of drug the wasteland had to offer, she stared into the mirror, hardly able to recognize herself. She certainly wasn't a vault dweller anymore.**

**This was it, she knew, glaring at her reflection. This was going to be the big one... the last run... she and the Lyon's Pride had already begun planning the taking back of the Jefferson Memorial, and if they waited any longer, the Enclave was sure to figure out the activation code by themselves. And now that they were in possession of the G.E.C.K., the activation code was the only thing preventing the Enclave from assuming full power over the Memorial, and Project Purity. **

**Zella was sure she wouldn't be returning from this fight...**

**And she didn't intend to.**

**As long as the battle is won somehow...**

**She would accept death, just like her father did.**

**For Project Purity.**

**"Take care of the town, Wadsworth. You're the sheriff now." Zella ordered her robot butler. "And tell Gob he's in charge of my house now... tell him he's got a new place to live."**

**"Obliged! I shall maintain order in Megaton, Mistress. May the Gods be with you!" Wadsworth saluted her.**

**Zella, grinning at him, opened the front door to her Megaton home, departing it for the last time.**

**Meanwhile, miles away, a tall, grouchy red ghoul was wandering the wastes of the city, his hands clenched tightly into fists, his march strong and unyielding, and his milky blue eyes firey with a passion unmatched.**


	24. The Battle Born

_**"Ugh..." Zella moaned, staring down at her legs in front of the campfire. **_

_**"What's the matter, Mistress?" Charon asked, eyeing her from across the flames.**_

_**"My thighs..." Zella muttered. "They're getting so big and fat. Its probably the Nukas I've been drinking... I... I usually don't worry about stuff like this, but..."**_

_**"Mistress." Charon said.**_

_**Zella looked up.**_

_**Charon was staring at her, wearing a very straight face.**_

_**"Look at me." He said blankly.**_

_**"What?"**_

_**"Look at me, Mistress. There is nothing wrong with the way that YOU look." Charon told her.**_

_**Zella repressed a laugh, now wearing a grin.**_

_**"There's nothing wrong with the way you look either, Charon." She assured him.**_

_**Charon made a single, raspy chuckle, looking away.**_

_**"I'm serious!" Zella added. "I love ghouls! And y'know, Charon... you're the tallest ghoul I've ever met... you're really toned, too... and h-handsome."**_

_**Charon blinked.**_

_**"What?!" Zella demanded, her cheeks flushing red. "H-how am I supposed to compliment you without sounding weird? Stop giving me that look!"**_

_**Charon laughed at her.**_

_**The laughing ceased when the environment around them began to vanish, and Charon glanced around, wondering where on earth he could be... he was walking with Zella through Underworld... oh yes, he remembered... we're in Underworld...**_

_**Zella, despite the odd looks she was getting from the residents of Underworld, continued to help the intoxicated Patchwork to his feet as he muttered incomprehensibly. Charon, standing feet away, simply watched.**_

_**"Come on, up we go... there we go..." Zella lead Patchwork into the back room, the one containing several old mattresses where some of the ghouls slept, and laid him on the nearest one. Despite his jagged ghoul skin, Zella was still able to see that his cheeks had gone red due to the alcohol.**_

_**Patchwork peered up at her, lying slightly crookedly on the mattress, now having gone silent.**_

_**"Listen, if you ever need anything, let me know. Alright? I'm a friend." Zella told him, giving him a soft pat on the forehead. Charon stood in the doorway, watching her curiously.**_

_**"You didn't have to do that." Charon said when he and Zella made their way out of the Museum of History.**_

_**"Yeah, I did." Zella replied, looking annoyed. "You'd think everyone in Underworld... of all people... they'd understand what it was like to be discriminated against... and to be treated like shit... but then they go and do it to Patchwork. Did you see what they-?"**_

_**"Yes, I saw." Charon nodded, staring away, thinking of the many times he'd played witness to Patchwork's bullies.**_

_**"Ghouls are some of the friendliest people I've found out here. And even they manage to be the lowest of the low sometimes."**_

_**"It could be worse for him, Mistress." Charon told her.**_

_**"I know that. But..." Zella thought of the years she spent in the vault, falling prey to Butch and the Tunnel Snakes, feeling agitated. "That doesn't make it right."**_

_**Suddenly, everything faded... what... what was happening...?**_

_**Charon looked around, realizing that he was standing on the metal platform in front of Rivet City's bridge. He looked to his side to see Zella, staring down, her eyes tender, her expression regretful... oh, that's right... we came to visit Rivet City...**_

_**"I didn't get here fast enough..." Zella muttered, her lip trembling, holding in her hands a single bottle of purified water. "He... he died... I wasn't... fast enough..."**_

_**Upon their first visit to Rivet City, Zella, Charon, and Dogmeat had come across a man begging for water. He was desperate for clean water, as radioactive water had made him deathly ill. Charon was surprised when Zella had a sudden impulse to visit Rivet City, until he discovered her reasoning.**_

_**There before them lie the desperate man, lifeless.**_

_**Once she felt the first tear roll down her cheek, she couldn't stop them.**_

_**"Charon..." She sobbed, looking at him pleadingly. "I just... Ch-Charon..."**_

**"Charon?" A light, friendly ghoul whispered, bringing him to.**

**Charon blinked himself awake, sitting upright.**

**"Yes, Mistress?"**

**"Oh, I'm nobody's mistress, sweetheart." Carol told him, smiling. "You must've been having an interesting dream..."**

**Charon looked away.**

**"You must be really uncomfortable, sleeping on this old table." Carol told him.**

**Charon glanced around, realizing that the Ninth Circle was, believe it or not, empty. He'd fallen asleep at the table nearest to his old post, although now, there was no jet in his bloodstream, and there was no suited ghoul forcing him to be awake at all hours of the day...**

**"You know something? I don't think I've ever seen you sleep before." Carol said, swiping a strand of Charon's matted red hair out of his face. "And you're looking a bit healthier, too."**

**Charon grumbled, wondering what she expected him to say.**

**"Its about five in the morning, sweety... if you want, I can set you up with a place to sleep." Carol told him, patting his back. "I'll be in the hotel." **

**Carol departed the Ninth Circle.**

**Charon sat alone, listening to Three Dog on the radio, massaging his temples. Every time he'd fallen asleep lately, the dreams would come back to him... but, for some odd reason, the horrific dreams of his old masters didn't seem to occur anymore... it was the strangest thing, because now, now that he had no contract, now that he was free of injustices and superiors, it seemed as though his mind was finally allowed to mellow... there was no contract determining where he'd be the next day, and there was no almighty superior of his giving him orders at the drop of a hat anymore...**

**But the dreams continued to frequent.**

**Dreams of one contract holder in particular.**

**Zella was stuck in Charon's mind, and no amount of sleep or liquor seemed to drown the memories of his travels with her. The more she appeared in his thoughts, the more irritated or confused he would become. He had no clue why she was buzzing around in his head like a swarm of boatflys...**

**"... And if you're still listening to Galaxy News Radio, that means you're alive and in tact, and you haven't gotten caught up in all the fire just yet. This is a warning, to all you out there in the good fight... if you're not involved in this, then stay indoors! And if you ARE involved, then you better give it everything you got. The future of the wasteland rests in the fate of the fight today, and why do I believe there's gonna be a big showdown today? Enclave soldiers are mobbing up in groups throughout the center of the city, ready to take on the Brotherhood on the other side of town, along with a few rag-tag wastelanders who decided that THEY want control of the water for themselves, rather than having the Enclave take it from them. And get this, listeners... this fight's being lead by the famous Lyon's Pride, along with that stray wanderer from Vault 101. That's right, you heard me! This is Three Dog, warning you to get your kids inside, and grab them pitchforks, because its all about to hit the fan, folks!"**

**Charon listened intensely, his body now filling with a fuzzy, anxious sensation.**

**He didn't know exactly what made him stand up and storm out of Underworld.**

* * *

**"Alright, there you go." Gob said, leaning down and placing a bowl of water in front of Dogmeat, who began to gulp if down sloppily.**

**The sun was barely in the sky as of now, and it was about eight in the morning before Gob noticed a familiar character walk through the door.**

**Gob stared over the counter at Charon, who returned the look, saying nothing.**

**"She was gone when I got up, I just woke up about ten minutes ago." Gob told him. "Three Dog's talking about an all-out war downtown for Project Purity. That's probably where she went."**

**Charon turned towards the door.**

**"Hang on." Gob called after him.**

**Charon eyed him, one hand on the door, looking incredibly serious.**

**"Her dad died." Gob told him. "She ain't thinking straight. Bring her back safe, alright?"**

**Charon nodded, then exited the Saloon.**

**Dogmeat dashed around the counter and followed Charon out the door.**

**Gob, standing alone, sighed, leaning on the counter and listening to Galaxy News Radio worriedly.**

* * *

**It was the most bizarre, fantastic, frightening sight Zella had ever laid eyes on.**

**Walking out the door of the Brotherhood of Steel was wonderfully, horribly brilliant. Gunshots and explosions could be heard off in the near distance, filling the sky with smoke and fire underneath the sunrise, the last sunrise Zella was sure she'd ever see. A gigantic crane-like machine was carrying the monstrous robot, Liberty Prime, over the walls of the Brotherhood and set him outside of the place, facing the bridge where the Enclave and the Brotherhood were killing one another.**

**"Ready for this?" Sarah Lyons asked, glancing at Zella.**

**"Yup." Zella responded, staring forward.**

**Zella, Sarah, and the rest of the Lyon's Pride proceeded forward, out of the Brotherhood Citadel and onto the road, seeing Liberty Prime march forward, firing massive lazers at the enemy. _"Communist Chinese detected on American soil." _**

**As they approached the bridge, a huge familiar figure approached Zella.**

**"Hello, friend!" The beastly super mutant greeted.**

**"Fawkes?" Zella said, surprised. "You came back?"**

**"I thought you would need a hand." Fawkes told her.**

**Zella grinned at him, and the group pressed onward, close behind Liberty Prime.**

**Before going any further, Zella opened her satchel, pulling out a few needles.**

**Swallowing, then heaving a deep breath, Zella pressed all of the needles into her arm, one by one... Med-X, Psycho, Jet, Buffout... yes... _that's it... that's the feeling... I need... I'm invincible... _**

**Zella released a crackling, high-pitched laugh, then followed Fawkes, the Lyon's Pride, and the wastelanders forward. She flipped out her 44 magnum, stared down the scope, and began picking off Enclave soldiers... **

**"_Obstruction detected, composition: titanium alloy supplemented by photonic resonance barrier. Probability of mission hindrance: zero percent!_"**

**Liberty Prime grasped the two poles on either side of the bridge, which were creating a barrier, and crunched them with his huge metal fingers. The electric force field died, and everyone continued onward. **

**Despite Sarah offering to give her armor, Zella was still wearing her old duster. And as the battle continued, she could've sworn she wasn't taking any damage...**

**Zella fired off a couple of rounds, thoroughly annihilating the Enclave soldier nearest to her, his head exploding into bits from inside his thick metal helmet.**

**Fawkes released a barrage of lazer fire to combat the energy weapons of the Enclave.**

**The cement shook like thunder every time a rocket would make contact with the bridge, but Liberty Prime was sure to eliminate any close-by threats with no difficulty whatsoever.**

**"_Chairman Cheng will fail: China will fall!_" **

**Zella smirked at Liberty Prime's bashing of the Chinese invaders, who were in reality, ironically, the old American government. _Well done Liberty Prime, _Zella thought. _Protecting your country from tyranny... just like you're programmed to do... _**

**One of the Brotherhood members fell, and Zella darted forward, zeroing in on the Enclave soldier...**

**BANG.**

**"HAH!" Zella hollered, watching the Enclave soldier crumble beneath his own weight, motionless.**

**It was unthinkable, how rapid and colorful everything seemed to be playing out now, although, lost entirely in adrenaline, Zella, still firing off shots left and right, barely noticed...**

**Liberty Prime lead everyone through the town, exterminating the Enclave, and Fawkes continued firing off a series of flashy red lazers. Sarah lead her men down the right side of the road, while Zella, Fawkes, and the wastelanders took the left, all lead by their robotic protector.**

**After a while, they rounded another corner, and the Jefferson Memorial was in sight, at the opposite end of the road, occupied by Vertibirds and more of the Enclave's foot soldiers... Liberty Prime shot down one of the Vertibirds, and everyone else kept firing upon the Enclave...**

**It wasn't describable, the uncountable series of feelings rushing though her now... adrenaline, maybe? It had to be... everything was blurring... but it was good... it was _great... _**

**Watching one of the Vertibirds explode, Zella was reminded of standing outside of the home base of the Enclave with Fawkes, watching it erupt, watching the Vertibirds engulf in flames and hit the ground... good... _that's what they deserve... _**

**It almost slipped her attention, how everyone had gone ahead of her now. Zella stood still, watching everyone run forward... and from where she was standing, it looked as though they had taken the grounds... _heheheh... _**

**It took her a moment to realize that more armored metal men were emerging from behind the walls around her.**

**One of the Enclave soldiers fired off a lazer, burning Zella's left arm, making her hit her knees... she turned, aiming her revolver... BANG.**

**The soldier fell, but others were closing in on her... she took another shot to the leg, making it sear with a terrible, burning-hot intenseness she couldn't fathom... she tried to pull the trigger, but couldn't find the strength... it was over... its over... _at least Liberty Prime and the Brotherhood won... heh... kill me if you want... I still won... Project Purity... _**

**When she hit the ground, everything faded from her vision... she was sure she was dying... until a faint, growling noise occurred... a bark... a dog's bark... that protective dog... _her_ dog... _Dogmeat...? _**

**Dogmeat clamped his jaw around one of the Enclave's ankles, forcing him to the ground.**

**BANG. BANG.**

**The ringing of a combat shotgun was a noise Zella knew all too well... **

**Her eyes drifted open, though she was barely able to make out anything now...**

_**It couldn't be...**_


	25. End Game

**_"God dammit." _**

**Charon hit his knees beside Zella, after slaughtering the Enclave soldiers, placing his gun on the ground.**

**"Mistress." He slid his arm under her head, cradling it. "Mistress...?"**

**Zella didn't respond.**

**"Mistress, wake up." Charon gave her a light slap, but she still said nothing.**

**Dogmeat watched, hunched over her, his eyes shining with dismay, his ears drooping downwards.**

**Charon then began to dig through Zella's satchel, shoveling out all the stimpacks he could find... although, he seemed to find a lot of other chems too... Jesus... _she took all these damn chems...? _**

**Charon injected a stimpack into her arm. When she still made no sign of consciousness, he injected another... then another...**

**"Mistress..." He said, his raspy voice giving a slight tremor, a sudden uneasiness beginning to consume him from the inside. "Mistress... wake up... wake _up_, God dammit..."**

**Zella still remained still, eyes closed, arms limp.**

**Charon sat there, knelt in the rubble, ignoring the explosions and shots firing off near the Memorial, barely able to hear them... they were millions of miles away now as he sat here, holding his only friend in the world... **

**Minutes passed by, but for Charon, they could have been years... long, agonizing years, holding Zella's motionless body, silently and desperately waiting for her to get up... to spring back to life... to drag him into another misadventure spawned from her child-like curiosity, and her peculiar interest in danger... _Charon, would you call me by my name? Please? Stop calling me Mistress. Come on, Charon... what's the worst that could happen? Forget the stupid contract for a second, Charon... just talk to me..._ **

**"Mistress..." He said softly, leaning close to her, gently resting his forehead on hers. "God _dammit..." _**

**His free hand curled into a stiff fist, and Charon bit his lip, his hand beginning to tremble.**

**"Z-Zella." He uttered. "Z... Zella... I said your name... alright...? Now just... just _wake up, God_ _dammit... _Don't... don't fucking die on me now..." **

**He lifted her, holding her close.**

**And, for the first time in decades, Charon felt tears sliding down the sides of his ghoulish face... **

**One of his tears dripped off him, landing on Zella's head.**

**Charon pressed two fingers against her throat, and indeed, there _was_ a heartbeat... _Thank God..._**

**Still... she didn't seem to be breathing... and her heartbeat seemed a little off... irregular, somehow...**

_**The chems,**_** he knew. _An overdose._**

**Charon placed his hand over Zella's cheek tenderly.**

**"You better not hate me for this."**

**Then, he leaned in, pressing his crooked lips against her smooth ones... he breathed into her... **

**He gave her three breaths, and then, to his great relief, he was able to feel the soft gust of her breath against his face... it worked... it had worked...**

**Charon smiled.**

_**She was breathing.**_

**"This wasn't in the contract..." Zella moaned faintly, attempting to fix her gaze on him, giving him a weak grin.**

**"Shut up." Charon replied, now feeling embarrassed. "If you wouldn't go doing stupid shit like this... God dammit... what the hell possessed you to take all those damn chems?!"**

**"You weren't there to stop me..." Zella breathed honestly. "I... I'm stupid without you around..."**

**"No shit." Charon scolded her.**

**Zella stared up at him groggily, and after a long, quiet moment, they both smiled.**

**"Listen... Charon..." Zella said, so softly that he was barely able to hear her. "I... I need you to give Sarah the code for the purifier. Its 2-1-6..."**

**"You tell her." Charon responded.**

**"I... don't think I'm gonna make it..." She muttered. "Charon... I love you like family... I'm your friend... I don't care what you think... I'm your friend..."**

**"Shut up." Charon told her. "Come on."**

**Then, he slipped his other arm underneath her legs-and in one swift heave, he stood, lifting her off the ground, carrying her like an infant.**

**"Let's go."**

**Charon marched down the street, towards the Memorial, where Liberty Prime was making his last stand. The Enclave's foot soldiers seemed to have been cleared from the area, but the Brotherhood was still occupied, helping Liberty Prime shoot down Enclave Vertibirds...**

**Zella's mind began to soften, her father's voice playing through her head, calming her... _Revelation 21:6. I am Alpha and Omega. The beginning... and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life, freely. _**

**"Stay awake." Charon ordered her as he approached the entrance to the Memorial.**

**Thankfully, the Enclave inside the building had already been eradicated by the Brotherhood, so Charon was able to reach the purifier without any difficulty, Zella in his arms, and Dogmeat by his side.**

**When he approached the purifier, he saw Sarah Lyons standing in front of it.**

**"Holy shit, what happened to her?" Sarah exclaimed, seeing Zella.**

**"She's overdosing." Charon informed her.**

**"On what?" Sarah asked, exasperated.**

**"Er..." Charon looked down at Zella, his jaw just the slightest bit crooked. "Everything."**

**Just as Sarah was about to speak, a voice came from the intercom.**

**"Listen, if anyone's there... the purifier is about to blow... its overloading with pressure, the place is filled with radiation... someone needs to shut it off from the inside... I'm sorry, there's no other way... but it has to be turned off, _now!" _Doctor Li's voice ordered.**

**"Well, so much for celebrating." Sarah said glumly.**

**"This is an unfortunate situation we find ourselves in..." Charon mumbled.**

**"Let me in." Zella said, turning her head, staring at the purifier. "I... I'm about to die anyway... l-let me in... put me down, Charon... I need to restart it..."**

**"I don't recall that being a part of the plan." Charon told her.**

**"Neither was you being here." Zella replied. **

**"You haven't even asked me." Charon said. "Radiation... it wouldn't kill me."**

**"You're not an errand boy..." Zella said.**

**Zella then turned, trying to climb her way out of his arms, but he didn't allow her to.**

**"Idiot." Charon said. "Stay here."**

**Charon placed her at the bottom of the stairs, sitting against the wall. Then, he climbed the stairs, passing Sarah, and entering the chamber. Sarah cycled the airlock, and the big door closed, sealing him inside.**

**Zella forced herself to her feet, gripping the rail, peering through the glass, watching Charon.**

**The last thing she remembered was seeing Charon punch the buttons... 2-1-6... everything went bright... something ear-splitting, incredibly loud... it knocked her unconscious... everything went dark...**

* * *

Two Weeks Later

* * *

**The migraine could have split her head in two...**

**The voices surrounding her weren't helping, either... many different people chattering... people she recognized...**

**"Still with us, kid?" Gob said, standing over her.**

**It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, and she realized that she was lying somewhere in the Brotherhood Citadel. Gob, Fawkes, Dogmeat, Sarah, and Elder Lyons were standing around her bed.**

**"She's fine, told you she'd be fine." Sarah said to the Elder.**

**Dogmeat began licking her furiously when she sat upright, glancing around.**

**"What happened?" Zella asked.**

**"You were out for about two weeks." Elder Lyons told her. "There was some sort of pressure build up in the purifier... caused an explosion or something, knocked you and Sarah both unconscious, along with your ghoul friend. But don't worry... the purifier still works just fine, and the Enclave's been eliminated."**

**Zella, sighing, smiled.**

**"Where's-?" She began, but Gob, as if reading her mind, pointed to the corner of the room, where Charon was standing. He was leaning on the wall, his arms crossed, and his expression unreadable, his eyes now locked onto her.**

**"Not gonna say anything, Charon?" Sarah asked, peeking over at him, grinning. "You were more worried about her than the rest of us."**

**Charon made a deep growling noise.**

**"Don't wanna admit it, huh." Sarah laughed, turning back to Zella. "Well... we won. Can you believe it?"**

**Zella and Sarah grinned, then exchanged a hug.**

**"You're still an honorary member of the Lyon's Pride, if you ever want a crew to run with." Sarah told her.**

**"Thanks." Zella answered. "But... I think I want to go home. For a while, at least..."**

**"We understand completely, after what you've been though, its the least we could do to escort you and your friends back to Megaton." **

**Zella nodded, then stood, yawned, and made her way out of the room and into the hallway.**

**She stood in the hall alone for a moment, and then, as expected, Charon came through the doorway, joining her.**

**They stared at one another for a moment, and if Zella hadn't imagined it, Charon's face seemed a bit less tense... his eyes seeming to sparkle with something new, something he didn't have before...**

**They both seemed to act at the same time.**

**They wrapped their arms around one another, embracing each other tightly. They were quiet for a minute or so, losing themselves in the long, deep hug.**

* * *

**"Zella?" Charon called, stepping into the Saloon.**

**Gob looked up from his clipboard.**

**"She and Fawkes took Dogmeat out to the Springfield place." Gob told Charon. "Said something about, 'I bet we can take care of it before Charon even wakes up' or something. I, uh... tried to stop her... sorry."**

**Charon, grumbling to himself, departed the Saloon again. Zella knew not to go preform jobs without him... **

**It was, after all, their job to take care of all the raiders in the area. And they had formed quite a reputation for keeping the wasteland safer from them... but still, Zella had a habit of making the whole thing into some kind of game.**

**Just as Charon marched up the hill, he spotted Zella, Dogmeat, and Fawkes, returning through the gates of Megaton.**

**Zella, meeting Charon's eyes, made a stunted face, stopping in her tracks.**

**Charon, scowling, approached her.**

**"You know not to go and do jobs without me." He told her. "Its dangerous."**

**Zella sighed.**

**"I'm sorry..." She said. "I got you a surprise."**

**Zella placed her bag on the ground and opened it, revealing about twenty bottles of Nuka-Cola.**

**Charon stared at it in disbelief.**

**"_That's _why you left without me?" He said.**

**"I wanted to surprise you. I thought you liked Nukas." Zella said simply, trying to smile.**

**They stared at one another for a moment.**

**"Don't leave without me again." Charon ordered her.**

**Zella nodded, then shrugged. "Okay. You're always right."**

**She came forward and hugged him, and he returned the hug, closing his eyes, releasing a cloud of breath. **

**"Don't fucking scare me like that."**

**Zella, Charon, Fawkes, Dogmeat, and Gob spent the afternoon in Gob's Saloon, eating Brahman Steaks, chugging one Nuka after the other, and conversing happily. They were the biggest group of misfits the town had ever played host to... and now, here in Megaton, the home of the wanderer, they were all a family made up of various different folks, all having been drawn together by the same thing; their feelings of loneliness, their experiences of rejection and violence, and of course, the meeting of the red-headed vaultie that brought them all together.**


	26. (Story Notes)

So, because I put so much into my Fallout 3 story, I decided to make sort of an explanation page at the end. As you could imagine, a lot of things that happened in The Capitol Wasteland are based on things that actually happened during my Fallout 3 gameplay.

First off, I want to make it clear that I'm aware of a couple of redundancies in the word structure of the story. The reason I haven't been editing the story lately is because I'm currently working on a New Vegas story, Misadventures of the Mojave, and I had to delete all the documents composing The Capitol Wasteland.

Once I've finished My New Vegas story (which is a lot longer and more complicated to construct, considering the DLC's, along with the amazingly awesome character depth in the New Vegas companions), I am going to re-create what documents of The Capitol Wasteland that I wish to edit via copy&paste powers.

I take my stories, and my fanfictions, very seriously, and I want to acknowledge any flaws any of you might see in the story.

First of all; I am aware that my Fallout 3 character, Zella, and my New Vegas character, Sandra, both have virtually the same appearance. They are both modeled after me. They do both, however, have differences in their quirks and personalities (similarities too, but to a lesser degree).

Zella is younger than Sandra, and her entire story revolves around her innocence being slowly broken down as she experiences more and more hostilities in the wasteland (she finds it very difficult to kill anyone in the beginning, and this slowly changes as the story goes on. She even laughs at the people she kills in the end of the story, during the battle of Project Purity). She grew up in a vault, completely protected from the dangers of the outside world, so naturally, she's a little overwhelmed and arguably traumatized when she discovers the wasteland.

Sandra is the opposite. She grew up in the Mojave, lost all her family at a young age, and was never protected from the horrors of the post-apocalyptic world. She has seen a lot of death, and caused her fair amount of it. In the beginning of Misadventures of the Mojave, she starts out as a level-headed, somewhat cold-hearted character who only looks after herself. Then, after the whole ordeal with Benny begins, she's forced to spark a little fire under herself to right the wrongs done to her. Along the way, she makes a lot of unlikely friends (the New Vegas companions), and slowly, she begins to adopt a more fun-loving, loyal, and joyful disposition. It is the first time she's ever had people to care about. I could say more, but explaining anything further would contain story spoilers.

Now, onto my Fallout 3 inspirations;

1 - I am a huge Charon fan. I completely understand why the game makers didn't elaborate on a backstory for him, because Fallout 3 was the first "companion experiment" Bethesda decided to apply to the Fallout games. They perfected the companion system immensely when they made New Vegas, adding backstories and the oh so helpful companion wheel. So, I took it upon myself to apply what I saw to be a fitting story for Charon, with what leads the game gave me. "He was raised by an interesting group of individuals," etc, plus the fact that its noted in the story that he is, in fact, a slave. Charon was an amazing character, and it drove me mad playing through the game without being able to talk about big issues with him, the way you can with companions in New Vegas. I also thought that Charon very much deserved a close friend, because he always gave off the aura that he hated being "under" someone else, hated that he had a contract, and hated the fact that no one seemed to care about him at all, leading to his grumpy and disgruntled personality. I made Zella pry for information and try her damnest to get close to him, the way I wanted to during the gameplay of Fallout 3.

2 - I noticed that, no matter what time you'd be in Underworld, Charon would never sleep. I added an explanation for this as well.

3 - The situation in Andale was something based on what I experienced during gameplay. I had no idea it was a town of cannibals, and I snuck into the shed and stole their strange meat (didn't know it was human meat at first either). Then I talked to the old man who warns you about Andale, and decided to sneak around. I told Charon to wait while I snooped around, but then I got caught. The people in the house came after me, and I had a nearly broken weapon with very little ammo, so I ran for it. As soon as I got within eyeshot of Charon, he blew them away. He saved my ass, and it inspired the two Andale chapters. Also, just like in the story, I tossed the packages of strange meat into the river on my way out of town. It was awesome.

4 - Charon tends to blow up lots of cars, so I put that in the story as well.

5 - Gob should have had some kind of personal mission in the game. He was an amazing character, and he didn't get enough recognition, so I made him a main character as well.

6 - I always forget about minefield, so Charon, Dogmeat and I wander in and I have an extremely hard time trying to protect them both from the constant explosions. Once, he actually ran ahead to kill the sniper and ended up breaking his leg on a landmine (in game, it looked like he ran forward to protect me). Since Fallout 3 has no companion wheel, I wasn't able to fix his broken leg for a while. He was hobbling around after me, and it drove me crazy.

7 - It always bothered me that you couldn't attempt to convince Charon into getting the GECK after he denies you. It also bothered me that he refused at all, so I gave the situation a little more of a realistic, psychological reason why he was in such a foul mood during the GECK fiasco. I didn't want it to be because he and the wanderer had no friendship whatsoever, and I'm sure most Charon friends will agree.

And there we go, hope you enjoyed the story. :)


End file.
